RSS 1.0Division of Biological Sciences (MU)
The Division of Biological Sciences at MU offers a unique integration of world-class research, award-winning graduate and undergraduate training, and outstanding community outreach. Our faculty research programs include the acquisition of new knowledge through basic research, and coordinated translational research to improve human health, our food supply, and our environment. Our graduate training programs emphasize the excitement of discovery and the development of individual creativity and critical reasoning skills, with graduate mentors who are experts at the frontiers of their field. In undergraduate education, as in our graduate programs, we emphasize the excitement of discovery and the development of individual creativity and critical reasoning skills, providing an excellent foundation for advanced study or direct entry into the workplace. Because science exposure in the pre-college years is critical to the development of both scientists and informed citizens, we also offer special outreach programs for secondary school science teachers and their students in Missouri.
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Disentangling the feedback signals coordinating the ion channel mRNA profile of motor neurons of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2023)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 5/1/2024] How do neural networks reliably produce motor behaviors over the course of an organism's life? Remarkably, neural networks are able to stabilize their outputs in spite of physiological perturbations ... -
Cancer drug resistance mechanisms
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2023)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 5/1/2024] Significant advances have been made toward developing potent agents that selectively target and kill cancer cells. However, achieving durable clinical benefits remains a significant challenge in ... -
Adaptations enabling PBP1a-driven polar growth in Agrobacterium tumefaciens
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2023)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 5/1/2024] For bacteria with complex life cycles involving several environmental niches, adaptability is key. The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a master of adaptability as it lives two distinct ... -
B2 or not B2 : loss of ephrin-B2 in endothelial cells during development, homeostasis, and regeneration
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2023)The microvasculature is a robust and highly adaptive system, responsive to minute physiological and molecular cues. Endothelial cells (ECs) assemble the microvasculature during development through vasculogenesis and ... -
Disturbance and restoration ecology : exploring biological and human dynamics
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)As scientists, when we study ecology, we study relationships. From a strictly biological sense, we look at relationships between organisms--how they interact, compete, and develop at different scales. We also look at how ... -
An all-consuming conundrum : drivers of seed predation in tallgrass prairies
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Post-dispersal seed predation is a determinant of seed availability for species establishment, and ultimately, community structure. For example, species with high intrinsic fitness and competitive ability may not remain ... -
Unveiling glial pathways involved in neuronal communication
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/1/2023] Glia have been understudied throughout time largely because of a lack of basic understanding. Early experiments showing that glia do not respond with action potentials after an electrical ... -
The evolution and genetic basis of complex traits in Drosophila melanogaster
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)The current climate crisis, increasing habitat fragmentation, deforestation, the number of extreme weather events, contagious diseases, and more are major environmental stressors that threaten the survival of every species ... -
Hormonal and genetic control of leaf and vein development in maize
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 8/1/2023] Grasses (Poaceae) have successfully colonized diverse terrestrial ecosystems and impacted human civilization by producing the bulk of world food supply. The grass leaf is distinct for having a ... -
(Socio-)ecological tools and insights for a changing climate
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)In one way or another, climate change is impacting all social, economic, and ecological systems on the planet. Scientists worldwide warn of catastrophic and irreversible damage to social and ecological systems in absence ... -
Mining the Drosophila gustatory receptor family for new thermosensitive proteins : basic science and tool development
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)Extrinsic control of neural activity is a powerful paradigm for understanding how neural circuits operate and regulate behavior. Traditionally, optogenetic tools are used to activate or inhibit neuronal activity with light. ... -
Molecular dissection of the roles of RNA processing proteins in meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 5/31/2023] The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa is a model organism for the study of genome defense and epigenetic mechanisms. N. crassa utilizes meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA (MSUD) to silence ... -
Neuroscience tools in novel contexts: developing thermogenetics in Drosophila and decoding autonomic activity in mouse major pelvic ganglion
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 5/31/2023] Animal research models provide the opportunity to decode neural activity via the ability to precisely stimulate and record neural events associated with quantifiable circuit and behavioral outputs ... -
Genetic and hormonal regulation of meristem initiation and maintenance pathways during maize vegetative and reproductive development
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)Plant development is driven by pools of undifferentiated stem cells called meristems. Meristems have two functions, to divide producing cells that will replenish the stem-cell niche, and cells that will differentiate into ... -
Methodological approaches for sound training in underepresented learners: a case study with american toads (Anaxyrus americanus)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)efforts to better understand the minds of animals have been flourishing, with methodological breakthroughs and a remarkable increase in the number of publications dealing with a wide variety of non-model species. The growing ... -
Uncovering the genetic basis of seed amino acid composition in arabidopsis using a multi-omics integrative approach
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)Seeds are a vital source of protein in the diet of humans and livestock. However, protein composition in the seed is low, comprising about 10 percent of the total composition in the seed. Additionally, protein quality in ... -
Uncovering the genetic architecture and metabolic basis of amino acid composition in maize kernels using multi-omics integration
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)Seeds are a major source of protein in human and livestock diets. Cereal grains are some of the most consumed seeds by both humans and livestock worldwide, with maize, wheat, and rice alone accounting for ~70% of the total ... -
Ecological genomics of divergence, admixture, and fitness in the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)The Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is one of the most highly targeted sport fishes in the world. Anglers vie for the opportunity to catch Smallmouth Bass recreationally and competitively, spending billions of dollars ... -
Dissecting the genetic basis of learning, memory, and thermal tolerance in a multi-parental population of fruit flies
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)Learning, memory, and thermal tolerance are complex traits that are fundamental survival skills in many species. For example, small poikilotherms " like Drosophila melanogaster, have evolved physiological mechanisms to ... -
Conservation genetics of conflict in the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an endangered species whose distribution spans 13 countries in south, southeast, and insular Asia. The primary threats to the survival of this species include direct conflict, primarily ...