With rising concentrations of CO₂ in the Earth's atmosphere causing
concern about climate change, many solutions are being presented to
decrease emissions. One of the proposed solutions is to sequester excess
CO₂ in geological formations such as basalt. The deep subsurface is known
to harbor much of the microbial biomass...
Renibacterium salmoninarum produces bacterial kidney
disease (BKD) in salmonid fish. Soluble antigen(s) (SA) produced
by the bacterium was characterized by physicochemical,
functional and immunological methods. The molecular weight
determination by SDS-PAGE analysis of SA yielded 14 different
molecular weight species. Seven of these species were
prominent, 57 kd protein being...
The inhibition of S-aden.osylmethionine: Δ²⁴-sterol methyltransferase
(EC 2.1.1.41) activity by endogenous cellular components has
been studied in vitro. The principal inhibitors were Na⁺ and K⁺; Cs⁺,
NH₄⁺ and Li⁺ were also shown to inhibit the reaction. The inhibition
by potassium cation has been studied, and we have found that energy...
An enzyme system was prepared from Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
strain MCC, which carries out the transfer of the methyl group from
S-adenosylmethionine or methionine to the side chain of yeast sterols.
The cell-free system has been shown to be incapable of synthesizing
ergosterol but carries out the synthesis of two as...
To begin the development of a research tool for use in the in
vivo study of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) metabolism, I attempted
to locate, isolate, clone and elicit the expression of the SAM
hydrolase gene (E.C. 3.3.1.2) of the coliphage T3.
The gene was isolated and cloned into the M13mp8 cloning...
Toxin production by cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) in freshwater systems has lasting ecological and human impacts. Nutrients, light availability, hydrology, and microbial community composition impact the frequency and intensity of toxic cyanoHABs. Climate change will exacerbate toxic cyanoHABs, making real time and predictive monitoring a vital tool for managing...
The genome of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus which infects the
larvae of the tussock moth, the lepidopteran, Hemerocampa
pseudotsugata, was isolated, identified as deoxyribonucleic acid, and
characterized in terms of its physical and biological properties. An
isolation procedure for the viral DNA was established which consisted
of the following steps:...
Phytoplankton initiate the marine carbon cycle by fixing carbon dioxide into biologically available compounds. These abundant single celled organisms mediate carbon flux from the atmosphere to the deep ocean and are the base of the marine food web, supplying new carbon to higher trophic levels. Phytoplankton are highly diverse and...
Vibrio bacteria are commonly found in freshwater, marine, and estuarine environments. Members of this genus can exist in commensal relationships with marine animals or as planktonic bacteria, however, they are well known for their roles as pathogens towards humans and animals. In this dissertation, I investigated aspects of host-bacteria relationships...