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Dr. Stephen Baron (BC), PHA depolymerase in Streptomyces: Cloning and regulation
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are plastic-like polymers produced by soil bacteria. Biodegradation of PHAs is carried out by extracellular PHA depolymerases secreted by many soil microorganisms. My lab studies how PHA depolymerase synthesis is regulated in the soil bacterium, Streptomyces sp. 5A. Our objectives are: 1) to clone and sequence the gene encoding the PHA depolymerase (phaZ); 2) to identify upstream sequences that might be involved in transcriptional regulation; 3) to isolate mutants of the organism deficient in glucose repression of PHA depolymerase synthesis; and 4) to isolate and characterize PHA-binding proteins that might be involved in induction of PHA depolymerase synthesis.
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Dr. Marta Bechtel (JMU), Molecular biology and mechanical properties of cartilage tissue
A recent research focus is studying cartilage tissue as a tissue engineering model system to better understand basic cell and molecular biology of chondrocytes, the cell population present in cartilage tissue, and to learn more about the biomechanical properties of cartilage tissue. Tissue engineering requires an understanding of the structure and organization of a tissue's extracellular matrix, what the role is for the cells that reside in the tissue, and what part the mechanics and dynamics of the three-dimensional structure play in the function of a tissue. One goal of this research is to help further delineate the role of chondrocytes in forming and organizing the extracellular matrix that comprises cartilage tissue.
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Dr. Tim Bloss (JMU), Control of apoptotic cell death
Apoptosis is a ubiquitous cell death process that removes unnecessary or badly damaged cells throughout the life of an organism. This mechanism of cell killing plays a central role in both development and cellular homeostasis, and proper control of apoptosis, both positive and negative, is required for survival. My lab studies control of apoptosis in C. elegans, a small roundworm, and we have identified two novel repressors of apoptosis, ICD-1 and -2, which appear to repress apoptosis in every cell of the worm. We are using RNA interference, DNA cloning and western analysis along with other techniques to determine how ICD proteins repress apoptosis, and how this repression is released in cells fated to die.
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Dr. Justin Brown (JMU), The role of medullary serotonin in thermoregulatory effector pathways
The primary goal of this research project is to determine the role of serotonin (5HT) in the neural control of thermoregulatory responses to stress. 5HT may act as a relay station for a variety of autonomic responses including sweating, shivering, and seeking warmer/cooler ambient temperatures. Students will measure body core and preferred ambient temperatures in rats surgically instrumented with state-of-the-art biotelemetry techniques following injection of serotonergic blockers into the brainstem. This will decrease 5HT release and help to determine the role of 5HT in thermoregulatory responses to stress.
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Dr. Stephen Cessna (EMU), Anti-oxidants and stress responses in Arabidopsis
Plants are continuously subject to several environmental insults, including drought, heat, cold, pollution, disease, and insects. While some plants have evolved the ability to specifically combat one or more of these stresses, all plants have adaptive ability to tolerate most stresses. This is achieved at the cellular level by the transcription of specific stress-activated genes. My research focuses on roles of small oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide in activating these stress-activated genetic programs. We will grow Arabidopsis plants that are genetically-altered so that they are missing genes encoding anti-oxidation enzymes, and then measure their ability to withstand stress. We will also measure several physiological and biochemical parameters of plant fitness with fluorescence microscopy, gas and liquid chromatography, and
western blotting.
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Dr. Steve Cresawn (JMU), Genomics of phages infecting Mycobacteria
Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria. Because they kill bacterial cells, phages and the genes found in their genomes are of great interest as potential clinical and diagnostic tools. My lab studies phages that infect Mycobacterium smegmatis, a soil bacterium related to the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Students in my lab will learn molecular biology and genomics techniques as they characterize phage genomes.
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Dr. Susan Halsell (JMU), Genetic and molecular characterization of shape remodeling during development
Morphogenetic processes remodel the shape of an embryo, generating the complex forms and structures that characterize the mature organism. Defects in morphogenesis give rise to birth defects such as spina bifida. Work in my laboratory focuses on a key cellular aspect of morphogenesis, the generation of cell shape changes. Specifically, we study the signal transduction molecule, RhoA. My research exploits the powerful molecular and classical genetic techniques afforded by the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster (a.k.a., the fruit fly). Because the molecules and cellular processes that direct morphogenesis are so similar between fruit flies and mammals, these studies have broad relevance. Our investigations and characterizations of morphogenesis are important steps in understanding how to overcome birth defects.
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Dr. Carol Hurney (JMU), Salamander tail development
My research project explores the formation of embryonic and post-embryonic tail segments in the four-toed salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum. Axial elongation in the four-toed salamander, H. scutatum occurs throughout larval, juvenile and adult life history stages via the development and growth of new tail segments. How cool is that? Thus, our goals are to characterize embryonic segmentation by visualizing somites, and determine the molecular pathways involved in tail segment development throughout all life history stages.
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Dr. Jon Monroe (JMU), Functional genomics of beta-amylases in Arabidopsis
Plant leaves accumulate starch during the day and break it down at night in order to supply the plant with reduced carbon when photosnthesis is not active. The pathway for starch degradation involves hydrolysis by beta-amylases (BAMs) located in plastids. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome contains nine BAM genes, six of which encode proteins that are targeted to plastids where they apparently work cooperatively. We have generated mutants lacking two or three BAMs, some of which accumulate excess starch. In addition, we are expressing the BAM proteins in E. coli to characterize their properties. We hope that clues from the mutants and purified proteins will help us to identify the functions of these enzymes.
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Dr. Terrie Rife (JMU), Understanding transcriptional and translational controls of mitric oxide synthase I
Transcriptional and translational regulation of the enzyme Nitric Oxide Synthase I (NOS1) is important for many physiological processes such as brain development and muscle movement. Student researchers in my lab uses rodent cell culture models, cloning, reverse- transcription, and PCR techniques to study the causes of these changes. Our lab is currently studying four different promoters that regulate gene transcription and we have found a novel exon for which we are trying to find a function.
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Dr. Ken Roth (JMU), The Role of Interleukin-3 in the Immune Response in Mice
Interleukin-3 (IL-3) is a cytokine that has been shown to be involved in the immune system’s response to infection in a variety of ways. In our lab, we study the general biological responses of IL-3 using mice that have been genetically modified such that they lack the ability to produce the cytokine. In this study, we will be investigating the role of IL-3 in cutaneous leishmaniasis, a potentially disfiguring skin disease caused by the protozoan pathogen Leishmania major. Previous studies in mice suggest that interleukin-3 (IL-3) may play a significant role in the immune response to L. majorinfection. We will attempt to determine how IL-3 shapes the immune response to cutaneous leishmaniasis by comparing how IL-3-deficient (“knockout”) mice and their genetically normal (“wild type”) counterparts respond to infection.
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Dr. Louise Temple (JMU), Studying respiratory disease in poultry caused byBordetella avium
Commercially grown turkeys frequently get infectious diseases, and one of the most common infectious agents is a bacterium called Bordetella avium. In our lab we study how the bacterium causes the disease and how the ciliated tracheal cells are killed, in an effort to create an effective vaccine to prevent the disease. We use molecular biology tools as well as field work to compare different isolates of the bacterium from sick turkeys and apparently healthy wild birds. Students learn microbiology, biochemistry, and DNA/protein handling techniques in our lab.
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