Arts and Sciences
AFTERNOON Posters
A Comparison of the Effects of Pseudolysogenic and Lytic Phages on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms Biology Course Project, 10_FA_BIO_421_P1, Undergraduate Advisor(s) - Jayne B Robinson Student(s) - Mariah K Roller
1:30 PM-3:00 PM Kennedy Union - Ballroom
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that produces biofilms and causes diseases in a range of organisms from plants to humans. This bacterium is especially of concern for immunocompromised and CF patients. This bacterium forms biofilms in the lungs of CF patients who are unable to combat the bacteria in this protected state. P. aeruginosa is able to grow on most surfaces, and can be a problem in hospitals, where it can be found on and in medical equipment. Due to the resistance of these biofilms to traditional antibiotics, alternate methods have been proposed to help break down the biofilm. In this study, we tested the ability of a pseudolysogenic (UT1) and a lytic bacterial virus (PEV-2) to reduce or eradicate biofilms. These two types of bacteriophage were used individually and in combination with each other on P. aeruginosa biofilms. The greatest reduction in biofilm biomass was observed when the biofilm was first exposed to the pseudolysogenic bacteriophage, UT1, and subsequently exposed to the lytic phage, PEV2. The results of this biofilm challenge indicate that greater biofilm remediation may be achieved by using combinations of bacteriophage. This finding has important implications for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections.
Ecological restoration of the terrestrial environment can influence aquatic ecosystems: a test using the ubiquitous non-native invasive shrub Lonicera macackii (Amur honeysuckle) Biology Course Project, 11_SP_BIO_421_P1, Undergraduate Advisor(s) - Rachel E Barker, Mark E Benbow, Ryan W McEwan Student(s) - Joseph G Braner
1:30 PM-3:00 PM Kennedy Union - Ballroom
Invasive plants can have detrimental effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Using restoration to reverse these unfavorable effects may benefit the communities within these ecosystems. Invasive plants that dominate riparian areas deposit leaf materials into stream habitats which may have negative impacts on aquatic insect communities. This study is one in a series of experiments focused on understanding how a widespread and destructive invasive plant, Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle), impacts stream ecosystems. Lonicera maackii was removed from a 140 5-m riparian stretch along both banks of a stream located in Black Oak Park, Centerville, OH. There were 2 treatments, control and honeysuckle removal, which contained 5 study riffles each. Each riffle had 3-0.25m2 plots in which leaf matter was collected weekly from September 2010-January 2011. On sampling day 7 the removal treatment had significantly greater leaf litter input compared to the control. There was nearly twice as much L. maackii leaf material in the control than the removal treatment on days 7 and 14. Over 43 days, total leaf accumulation rates were similar between both treatments. Native leaf litter was greater in the removal treatment and was dominated by Plantanus, Acer, Quercus and Fraxinus sp. respectively. In the control treatment, the native leaf litter community was primarily dominated by Acer, followed by Lonicera, Plantanus and Fraxinus sp. In summary, this study revealed that removal of an invasive species will increase total leaf material inputs and can also influence the species composition of the leaf litter entering the stream. These data are the first of their kind linking restoration practices involving L.maackii (removal) to impacts on aquatic communities. Further work is needed to explore how changes in leaf litter inputs may impact insects that rely on that material as a food and habitat resource.
Elucidating the Role of Cis-regulatory Element Interactions in Development and Evolution Biology Course Project, 11_SP_BIO_421_P1, Graduate Advisor(s) - Thomas M Williams Student(s) - Eric M Camino, William A Rogers
1:30 PM-3:00 PM Kennedy Union - Ballroom
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