Browsing by Subject "Microbiology"
Now showing items 1-20 of 147
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A Framework for Dissecting and Applying Bacterial Antibiotic Responses
(2017)An essential property of microbial communities is the ability to survive a disturbance. This is readily observed in bacteria, which have developed the ability to survive every antibiotic treatment at an alarming rate, considering ... -
A Phylogenetic, Ecological, and Functional Characterization of Non-Photoautotrophic Bacteria in the Lichen Microbiome
(2011)Although common knowledge dictates that the lichen thallus is formed solely by a fungus (mycobiont) that develops a symbiotic relationship with an alga and/or cyanobacterium (photobiont), the non-photoautotrophic bacteria ... -
A Synthetic-biology Approach to Understanding Bacterial Programmed Death and Implications for Antibiotic Treatment
(2013)Programmed death is often associated with a bacterial stress response. This behavior appears paradoxical, as it offers no benefit to the individual. This paradox can be explained if the death is `altruistic': the sacrifice ... -
A Tale of Two Proteins: Insights into the Haemophilus influenzae Hap and Hia Autotransporters
(2011)Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a common commensal in the human nasopharynx that can cause localized respiratory tract diseases such as otitis media, bronchitis, and pneumonia. NTHi adheres to respiratory epithelial ... -
Adapting Novel Molecular Diagnostic Methods for the Detection of Plasmodium knowlesi in Sarawak, Malaysia
(2020)Background: Recent epidemiological studies demonstrate that the prevalence of the fifth major human malaria parasite, Plasmodium knowlesi (monkey malaria), is often underestimated and misdiagnosed with standard microscopy ... -
Alterations of Endophytic Microbial Community Function in Spartina alterniflora as a Result of Crude Oil Exposure
(2021)The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster remains one of the largest oil spills in history. This event caused significant damage to coastal ecosystems, the full extent of which has yet to be fully determined. Crude oil contains ... -
Aminopeptidase-Dependent Modulation of Bacterial Biofilms by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Outer Membrane Vesicles
(2019)Pseudomonas aeruginosa, known as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, secretes a variety of virulence-associated proteases. These enzymes have been shown to contribute ... -
An Exploratory Search for Novel Coronaviruses in Sarawak, Malaysia
(2017)Background: In recent years, emerging zoonotic microbes are gaining more attention from the public and policy makers. Explosive outbreaks such as those from avian influenza viruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) ... -
Bacterial Communication and Cooperation: From Understanding to Applications
(2013)Bacteria communicate, coordinate, and cooperate as a population and this `social' behavior is key to their proliferation. Quorum sensing (QS) is the cell-cell communication mechanism by which bacteria sense their population ... -
Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles and the Plant Immune Response
(2021)Cells from all levels of life secrete vesicles, which are nanoscale proteoliposomes packaged with a variety of proteins, lipids, and small molecule cargo. Depending on their origin, these extracellular vesicles are termed ... -
Bacterial Responses to Silver Nanoparticle Treatment: Community Structure, Resistance, and Function.
(2016)The antimicrobial properties of silver have been taken advantage of by societies for thousands of years. Its use has come back in favor in the form of silver nanoparticles, which are highly efficacious antimicrobial agents. ... -
Bayesian modeling of microbial physiology
(2017)Microbial population growth measurements are widespread in the study of microorganisms, providing insight into areas including genetics, physiology, and engineering. The most common models of microbial population growth ... -
Bayesian Multivariate Count Models for the Analysis of Microbiome Studies
(2019)Advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing allow for rapid and affordable surveys of thousands of bacterial taxa across thousands of samples. The exploding availability of sequencing data has poised microbiota research to ... -
Bioremediation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils: Designing and Validating Mycoremediation Strategies Using Next Generation Sequencing Insights
(2017)This dissertation presents a framework to improve bioremediation of soils polluted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are of great concern because they are recalcitrant and toxic. PAHs enter the environment ... -
Causes and functional consequences of denitrifying bacteria community structure in streams affected to varying degrees by watershed urbanization
(2011)Human welfare depends heavily on ecosystem services like water purification and nutrient cycling. Many of these ecosystem services, in turn, rely on reactions performed by microbes and yet remarkably little is known about ... -
Cell Wall Lipids Promoting Host Angiogenesis During Mycobacterial Infection
(2018)Mycobacterial infection leads to the formation of characteristic immune cell aggregates called granulomas. In humans and animal models, tuberculous granuloma formation is accompanied by dramatic remodeling of host vasculature ... -
Cellular Coordinators: Mechanisms by Which Non-Enzymatic Proteins Contribute to Growth and Cell Surface Remodeling in the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans
(2022)My thesis work has focused on characterizing mechanisms by which human fungal pathogens regulate their adaptive cellular responses in order to survive and cause disease in the human host. Unlike most microbial fungi found ... -
Characterizing Bladder Adaptive Immune Responses to Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Infections
(2012)The mammalian urinary bladder is a highly specialized organ that must be able to withstand considerable amounts of osmotic pressure at its mucosal surface, in addition to maintaining an impenetrable barrier against potential ... -
Characterizing Stress-Induced Outer Membrane Vesicle Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
(2013)As an opportunistic Gram-negative pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa must be able to adapt to changes and survive stressors in its environment during the course of infection. To aid survival in the hostile host environment, ... -
Characterizing the Physiochemical Properties of Copper Chelating Agents: an Effort Towards Understanding their Antifungal Activity
(2015)An increase in drug-resistant infections and the paucity of new antibiotics present a major world health problem. Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) is an opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for life-threatening ...
