Showing 1 - 10 of 21 Items

Three Decades of Replicated Field Studies Reveal Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Inhibits Soft-shell Clam (Mya arenaria) Growth in Eastern Maine This record is embargoed.
- Embargo End Date: 2027-05-16
Date: 2024-01-01
Creator: Everett Horch
Access: Embargoed
Modulation of the crustacean cardiac neuromuscular system by the SLY neuropeptide family
Date: 2024-01-01
Creator: Grant Griesman
Access: Open access
- Central pattern generators (CPGs) are neuronal networks that produce rhythmic motor output in the absence of sensory stimuli. Invertebrate CPGs are valuable models of neural circuit dynamics and neuromodulation because they continue to generate fictive activity in vitro. For example, the cardiac ganglion (CG) of the Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) and American lobster (Homarus americanus) contains nine electrochemically coupled neurons that fire bursts of action potentials to trigger a heartbeat. The CG is modulated by neuropeptides, amines, small molecule transmitters, gases, and mechanosensory feedback pathways that enable flexibility and constrain output. One such modulator, the SLY neuropeptide family, was previously shown to be expressed in hormonal release sites and within the CG itself and has unusual processing features. However, its physiological effect was unknown. Here, I performed dose-response experiments in the crab and lobster whole heart and isolated CG to determine the threshold concentration of SLY neuropeptides to which these systems respond. The crab isoform had strong, excitatory effects in the crab whole heart and weakly modulated the crab CG. The lobster isoform weakly modulated the lobster whole heart and CG. Surprisingly, the crab isoform exerted large, variable effects on the lobster system, which suggests that SLY neuropeptides, their receptors, and their signaling pathways may be evolutionarily conserved across these two species. This research contributes to our understanding of how neural circuits can generate flexible output in response to modulation. It may also offer insight into processes influenced by peptidergic neurotransmission in the nervous systems of other animals, including mammals.

The identification and visualization of candidate early embryonic patterning genes in Bradysia coprophila This record is embargoed.
- Embargo End Date: 2027-05-16
Date: 2024-01-01
Creator: Sarah Conant
Access: Embargoed

Determining the influence of proximal Zeste binding sites and promoters on rates of transvection This record is embargoed.
- Embargo End Date: 2026-05-17
Date: 2023-01-01
Creator: Molly Henderson
Access: Embargoed

A multifaceted analysis of Semaphorin-induced neuroplasticity in the nervous system of Gryllus bimaculatus Access to this record is restricted to members of the Bowdoin community. Log in here to view.
- Restriction End Date: 2028-06-01
Date: 2023-01-01
Creator: Ean Lev Small
Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community

Enhancer usage variation assessed via chromatin-conformation within and among three species of Drosophila This record is embargoed.
- Embargo End Date: 2027-05-19
Date: 2022-01-01
Creator: Maia B. Granoski
Access: Embargoed

Tracking photosynthetic seasonality at needle and forest scales in pines experiencing mild winters Access to this record is restricted to members of the Bowdoin community. Log in here to view.
- Restriction End Date: 2025-06-01
Date: 2022-01-01
Creator: Sara Elizabeth Nelson
Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community
The Role of ELMO5 in Arabidopsis thaliana Cell Adhesion
Date: 2022-01-01
Creator: Isabel Kristina Ball
Access: Open access
- Plant cell growth and development relies on proper cellular adhesion. As the extracellular matrix serves as the area of connection between two cells, its synthesis and maintenance are essential for cellular adhesion. The middle lamella region, the layer of the extracellular matrix between two adjacent cell walls, is diffuse with the polysaccharide pectin due to its delivery by Golgi vesicles early during cell division. A Ruthenium Red screen for cellular adhesion mutants identified the family of 5 ELMO proteins that are critical for proper cellular adhesion. To further our understanding of plant cellular adhesion and pathways of pectin synthesis and modification, this work investigates ELMO5. Plants homozygous for a T-DNA insertion in ELMO5 and a new deletion mutant allele generated using CRSPR do not have a cellular adhesion phenotype, suggesting it is either not critical for cellular adhesion or is redundant with another gene. Redundancy within the ELMO family is identified through the analysis of double mutants of elmo5 and each of the other four elmo genes. Both elmo1-/- elmo5-/-and elmo4-/- elmo5-/-mutants have a visibly worse cellular adhesion defect phenotype, suggesting partial redundancy through the ELMO family. The mutants are also rescued by growth on agar, pointing to the importance of turgor pressure and osmotic potential in modulating cellular adhesion. Both ELMO4 and ELMO5 were found to localize to the Golgi using a GFP fusion, consistent with a role for ELMOs as scaffold for pectin biosynthesis.

Characterizing variation in enhancer usage within and between natural populations of Drosophila by comparing chromatin conformation in non-coding DNA This record is embargoed.
- Embargo End Date: 2027-05-19
Date: 2022-01-01
Creator: Serena Jonas
Access: Embargoed

Assessing parameters influencing interhomolog proximity of paired homologous chromosomes in Drosophila This record is embargoed.
- Embargo End Date: 2026-05-20
Date: 2021-01-01
Creator: Molly Margaret Moore
Access: Embargoed