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Title

MITOCHONDRIA RELOCALIZATION IN CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS INFECTED HFF-1 CELLS

Creator

Shuppara, Alexander Mitchell

Date

2021

Description

Chlamydia trachomatis is an infectious, gram-negative, obligate intracellular human bacterial pathogen. With over eight hundred million cases...
Show moreChlamydia trachomatis is an infectious, gram-negative, obligate intracellular human bacterial pathogen. With over eight hundred million cases worldwide, C. trachomatis is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection. It manifests as either trachoma, lymphogranuloma venereum, or other urogenital tract sequelae. As an intracellular pathogen, Chlamydia must scavenge for essential metabolites from establishing networks with its host’s organelles including Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, endocytic vesicles, mitochondria, and the cytoskeleton. C. trachomatis was considered an “energy parasite” that is entirely dependent on their host’s ATP production. Yet, recent mitochondrial inhibitor-based evidence suggests that C. trachomatis possess a sodium-based energy gradient for ATP production. Despite this finding, literature on specific interactions between host cell mitochondria and C. trachomatis requires further definition. This project evaluates mitochondrial dynamics changes from C. trachomatis infection in the human foreskin fibroblast cell line, HFF-1. We first defined C. trachomatis growth characteristics in HFF-1 over 36 hours-post infection. Next, we determined changes in mitochondrial dynamics and content throughout infection using immunofluorescent and immunoblotting techniques. observations on infected cells show mitochondrial morphology changes from an elongated appearance at the early stages of infection to fragmented in the late infection stages. Unlike in HeLa cells, HFF-1 remains in a normal distribution throughout the cell and we do not observe mitochondria relocalizing toward the inclusion. By studying mitochondrial relocalization dynamics, new insights into the dynamic and parasitic relationship of Chlamydia and its host can be discovered.
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Title

Population dynamics and pathogens of the western bean cutworm (Striacosta albicosta)

Creator

Bunn, Dakota C.

Date

2022

Description

Understanding an herbivorous pest’s population dynamics is necessary to ensure proper integrated pest management strategies are being...
Show moreUnderstanding an herbivorous pest’s population dynamics is necessary to ensure proper integrated pest management strategies are being developed and used. The western bean cutworm is a pest of both corn and dry beans that is understudied and difficult to manage due to its nocturnal lifestyle, adaptation to current management techniques and a general lack of understanding regarding its population structure. Our studies focused on the effects of host plant and pathogens on western bean cutworm population structure and found that mainly adults which developed on corn are contributing to the next generation of western bean cutworm in Michigan, making corn and dry beans unsuitable as co-refuges in insecticide resistance management strategies.We also found a 100% prevalence of the Nosema sp. in the adult population of western bean cutworm in Michigan. This prevalence, when paired with the consistent crop damage caused annually by the western bean cutworm, which confirms an abundance of cutworms are present, suggests the infection is slow acting and non-lethal to its host. Following sequencing, assembly, and annotation of the Nosema sp. genome, we were unable to provide a reason for the Nosema sp.’s low virulence, however, we were able to confirm the presence of all 6 polar tube proteins. Upon further examination of the Nosema sp. genome we were able to determine that it is a true Nosema with genome size of ~9.57 Mbp (~20% of which are transposable elements), which is within the typical range for this genus.
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