School of Biology Theses and Dissertations
Original work in partial fulfillment of a graduate degree in the School of Biology
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Recent Submissions
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Predator risk cue properties and environmental stress affect the importance of non-consumptive effects (NCEs) in salt marsh communities
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-03-29)Predators alter prey behavior and phenotype, which influences community structure and ecosystem function through cascading non-consumptive effects (NCEs). Prey reactive range, defined as the maximum distance at which prey ... -
Nematodes Adapt Using Yin-Yang Isoforms of a NURF Subunit
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-04-02)Convergent or parallel evolution is the repeated evolution of the same genotype in independent populations in response to similar environmental changes. A growing number of examples of parallel evolution are accumulating ... -
Computational approaches to intuitively analyze and visualize single-cell data
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-01-15)In this thesis, I will focus on developing computational methods that deliver intuitive and interpretable visualization of single-cell data. The first chapter describes a software named Cluster-to-Gate (C2G) that can ... -
ROLE OF ASYMMETRIC SEGREGATION AND THE RIBOSOME ASSOCIATED COMPLEX IN PRION FORMATION AND PROPAGATION
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-04-06)Self-perpetuating transmissible protein aggregates—prions—are implicated in mammalian diseases and control phenotypically detectable traits in yeast. Yeast heat shock-induced chaperone proteins counteract stress-induced ... -
PRION NUCLEATION AND PROPAGATION BY MAMMALIAN AMYLOIDOGENIC PROTEINS IN YEAST
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-04-17)Cross-β fibrous protein polymers or “amyloids” are associated with a variety of human and animal diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD) and are suspected to ... -
The response of marine benthic microbial populations to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-04-10)The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest accidental oil spill in history, the first large spill that occurred in the deepsea, and is unique in the unparalleled volumes of chemical dispersant that were applied ... -
Identification of the genetic and phenotypic basis of adaptation to new food sources in two laboratory domesticated Caenorhabditis elegans strains
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-03-29)The ability to obtain energy from natural environments is of fundamental importance to an animal’s survival and depends on both finding food and metabolizing it into a useful molecular source of energy. As organisms encounter ... -
Dominance and exhibit use in captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana)
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-12-06)The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a highly social species that typically lives in large, matrilineal family groups called herds which contain a linear dominance hierarchy between the adult females. Management ... -
Microbiome community change in the guts of marine fish: feeding and life stage transition as significant organizing factors
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-11-08)All animals harbor microbial communities (microbiomes) that play vital roles in host health, development, behavior, and evolution. Determining the processes that regulate microbiome diversity and function is therefore a ... -
Blood eQTL detection in structured populations and its application to interpretation of genetic association studies
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-11-09)Expression QTL (eQTL) detection has emerged as an important tool for unravelling the relationship between genetic risk factors and disease or clinical phenotypes. Most studies focus on analyses predicated on the assumption ... -
Genomic basis of evolutionary radiation in Lake Malawi cichlids
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-11-09)Understanding the genomic basis and origin of phenotypic variation is one of the fundamental questions of biology. Evolutionary radiations characterized by a range of natural phenotypic variants between genetically closely ... -
Effects of macroalgal versus coral reef dominance on coral survival, chemical defense, and microbiomes
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-10-24)Coral reefs are among the earth’s most biodiverse and productive ecosystems, but are undergoing precipitous decline due to coral bleaching and disease following thermal stress events, which are increasing in frequency and ... -
Regulation of the type VI secretion system in environmental isolates of vibrio cholerae
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-12-14)Vibrio cholerae is a human pathogen that causes the severe diarrheal disease cholera, but can also inhabit aquatic environments. The type-VI secretion system (T6SS) is a macromolecular contractile machine that injects ... -
Predation, competition, and facilitation on tropical reefs: implications for corals as reefs degrade
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-11-13)Tropical coral reefs are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth, but reefs worldwide have experienced dramatic declines in coral and often transitioned from coral- to macroalgal dominance. As local and ... -
Dissecting the role of linker histone H1 variants in embryonic stem cells
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-08-28)To further dissect the role of linker histone H1 in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), here, we have utilized a functional reconstitution approach to identify the regions of H1 proteins that are important to mediate neurite ... -
Fish response to macroalgal removal
Coral reefs are rapidly degrading into macroalgae dominated systems sustained through positive feedback loops. Macroalgae can harm corals directly via competition and indirectly via suppression of recruitment and increasing ... -
K-mer based data structures and heuristics for microbes and cancer
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-05-15)Recent technological advances allow for high throughput profiling of biological systems in a cost-efficient manner. The low cost of data generation is leading us to the “big data” era and the availability of big data ... -
Understanding pathways regulating liver versus pancreas fate decision and beta-cell regeneration
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-08-02)The liver and pancreas originate from common endodermal progenitors in early development. It has been shown that Bone morphogenetic protein 2b (Bmp2b) signaling is essential for determining the fate of these bipotential ... -
Applied bioinformatics for exploring diversity patterns in meta-omic data
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-04-25)This thesis explores the utility of applied bioinformatic approaches to better understand sequence space and phylogenetic diversity in meta-omic clinical and environmental datasets. In three chapters, the thesis describes ... -
Investigating ice slurry’s perceived mechanical abrasive quality to increase pathogen reduction on poultry during immersion chilling
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-04-26)The poultry industry is an integral part of Georgia’s economy, accounting for more than half of the state’s agricultural output. In Georgia, more than 20 million pounds of broiler meat are produced daily. Poultry processing ...
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