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Interaction of RNA polymerase II and the RNA silencing machinery in heterochromatin formation of Drosophila
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)
better understanding of cell cycle regulation. Aberrations in cell cycle regulation can lead to various types of malignant cancer. The study of heterochromatin structure will shed light on this important aspect of human health.--From public.pdf...
Quantitative biological studies at cellular and sub-cellular level
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
We developed a translational magnetic tweezers for quantitative measurements at cellular and sub-cellular level. In the cellular studies, multiple membrane tethers were extracted simultaneously under constant force transduced ...
Behavioral choice and demographic consequences of wood frog habitat selection in response to land use
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
Land use is a pervasive form of disturbance affecting natural systems on Earth. My dissertation research is set within the context of a large scale project referred to as Land-use Effects on Amphibian Populations (LEAP), ...
A multi-scale investigation of ecologically relevant effects of agricultural runoff on amphibians
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)
Modification of landscapes for agricultural production can introduce agrochemicals into surface waters and degrade aquatic habitats used by many amphibians for breeding and larval development. Although many ecotoxicological ...
Characterization of an in vitro neural stem cell niche with educational component : stem cells and society
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] We describe a novel neural stem cell (NSC) culture system, derived from embryonic stem (ES) cells, that maintains and expands a population of neural ...
The interploidy hybridization barrier in Zea Mays L.
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006)
The failure of endosperm development due to interploidy crosses could be due to two reasons, neither of which has been studied on its own. 1) There is an imbalance of inherited imprinted loci in the endosperm (HAIG and ...
Diversification in plant feeding insects : patterns of host-plant specialization and mating signal evolution inferred from species-level phylogeny and population genetics
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Speciation yields two reproductively isolated groups capable of living in sympatry without cross-fertilization. Thi inability to hybridize is caused ...
Assessment of the microbiome associated with endangered orchids
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)
The Orchidaceae (orchid family) is perhaps the most speciose group of flowering plants with approximately 25,000 described species and many thousands of hybrids. While certain mycorrhizal fungi are required for orchids to ...
Metabolic responses of meniscal tissue to collagenase stimulation
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Meniscal degeneration as a result of injury or aging is a common contributing factor in the development of knee OA. Meniscal degeneration develops and ...
The impacts of partner abundance on benefits from facultative pollination mutualism
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
Partner abundance affects costs and benefits in obligate mutualisms, but its role in facultative partnerships is less clear. I investigated this topic in a small alpine pollination web in the Colorado Rocky Mountains ...
From unique killers to a jumbo genome - isolation and characterization of phages that infect the plant pathogen, Agrobacterium tumefaciens
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
Bacteriophages and their lytic peptides can protect plants from phytopathogens such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens. To better understand mechanisms of phagemediated host killing, we isolated and characterized five lytic ...
Exploring the diverse functions of peptidoglycan hydrolases in the plant pathogen, Agrobacterium tumefaciens
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens displays an atypical form of unipolar elongation, followed by incipient pole synthesis during cell division and cell separation. Currently, how polar growing bacteria modulate ...
Friends in high places : ecology of mycorrhizal associations in alpine plant communities
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
Mutualisms are ubiquitous in nature, yet these interactions often vary in strength and persistence. This variation raises the questions of what determines whether mutualisms persist or vanish, and how does variation in the ...
Regulation of plant development in Arabidopsis
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The development of a complex organism, such as a plant, requires the function of multiple pathways that regulate various aspects of the developmental ...
The effects of metal contamination on larval white sturgeon in the upper Columbia River
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)
Sturgeon populations are imperiled worldwide. Declines are attributed to many factors including habitat degradation and alteration, overexploitation, and contamination. In North America, white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) ...
Identification, characterization and use of novel thermogenetic tools in drosophilia melanogaster
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
Extrinsic control of neural activity is necessary to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying behavior. Molecular tools that employ light (optogenetics) or temperature (thermogenetics) are primarily used for extrinsic ...
Tales of an 'invisible' life stage : survival and physiology among terrestrial juvenile ambystomatid salamanders
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
The vital rates (e.g., survival, growth, and reproduction) of distinct life stages within a species are known to influence the growth and persistence of populations. As such, studies describing stage-specific vital rates, ...
Nectar in nicotiana : pollinator associations, sources of variation, and evolutionary consequences
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
Nectar is the primary floral reward offered by plants to attract pollinators. Pollinators often exhibit a preference for certain types of nectars over others. If pollinator preferences for certain nectar traits are strong ...
Effects of prescribed fire and timber harvest on terrestrial salamander abundance, behavior, and microhabitat use
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
The goal of my dissertation was to assess how terrestrial salamanders respond to two common forest management practices -- prescribed fire and timber harvest. Previous studies have reported that timber harvest adversely ...
Characterizing territoriality and the mechanisms that mediate it in female Anolis gundlachi lizards
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
Territoriality is a suite of behaviors through which animals secure access to particular areas or resources. It is prevalent across animal groups and has the potential to exert substantial influence on fitness by mediating ...