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The heliobacteria, a family of anoxygenic phototrophs, are significant to photosynthesis evolution research, as they possess the simplest known photosynthetic apparatus. Although they are photoheterotrophs in the light, the heliobacteria may also grow chemotrophically via pyruvate metabolism in the absence of light. In Heliobacterium modesticaldum, the cytochrome bc complex is

The heliobacteria, a family of anoxygenic phototrophs, are significant to photosynthesis evolution research, as they possess the simplest known photosynthetic apparatus. Although they are photoheterotrophs in the light, the heliobacteria may also grow chemotrophically via pyruvate metabolism in the absence of light. In Heliobacterium modesticaldum, the cytochrome bc complex is responsible for oxidizing menaquinol and reducing cytochrome c553 in the electron flow cycle used for phototrophy. However, there is no known electron acceptor for cytochrome c553 other than the photosynthetic reaction center. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the cytochrome bc complex is necessary for phototrophy, but unnecessary for chemotrophic growth in the dark. Under this hypothesis, a mutant of H. modesticaldum lacking the cytochrome bc complex was predicted to be viable, but non-phototrophic. In this project, a two-step method for CRISPR-based genome editing was used in H. modesticaldum to delete the genes encoding the cytochrome bc complex. Genotypic analysis verified the deletion of the petC, B, D, and A genes encoding the catalytic components of complex. Spectroscopic studies revealed that re-reduction of cytochrome c553 after flash-induced photo-oxidation was ~130 to 190 times slower in the ∆petCBDA mutant compared to wildtype, phenotypically confirming the removal of the cytochrome bc complex. The resulting ∆petCBDA mutant was unable to grow phototrophically, instead relying on pyruvate metabolism to grow chemotrophically as does wildtype in the dark.
ContributorsLeung, Sabrina (Author) / Redding, Kevin (Thesis director) / Liu, Wei (Committee member) / Vermaas, Wim (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Leonard Hayflick studied the processes by which cells age during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in the United States. In 1961 at the Wistar Institute in the US, Hayflick researched a phenomenon later called the Hayflick Limit, or the claim that normal human cells can only divide forty to sixty

Leonard Hayflick studied the processes by which cells age during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in the United States. In 1961 at the Wistar Institute in the US, Hayflick researched a phenomenon later called the Hayflick Limit, or the claim that normal human cells can only divide forty to sixty times before they cannot divide any further. Researchers later found that the cause of the Hayflick Limit is the shortening of telomeres, or portions of DNA at the ends of chromosomes that slowly degrade as cells replicate. Hayflick used his research on normal embryonic cells to develop a vaccine for polio, and from HayflickÕs published directions, scientists developed vaccines for rubella, rabies, adenovirus, measles, chickenpox and shingles.

Created2014-07-20
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Although best known for his work with the fruit fly, for which he earned a Nobel Prize and the title "The Father of Genetics," Thomas Hunt Morgan's contributions to biology reach far beyond genetics. His research explored questions in embryology, regeneration, evolution, and heredity, using a variety of approaches.

Created2007-09-25
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Created1935