Graduate Education Week

-Biology- Dr. Don Dailey’s students investigate molecular differences among strains of fecal streptococci and fecal coliforms obtained from local surface and ground waters. These two populations of bacteria serve as indicators of fecal pollution. It is hoped that by characterizing them at the molecular level markers will be identified that will enable us to determine the source of these bacteria.
Parturition, the process by which the fetus is expelled by the uterus, is largely regulated by the oxytocin receptor (OTR) system. Dr. Sarah Lundin-Schiller’s lab is studying the regulation of the expression of the oxytocin receptor by steroid hormones (Eg. estradiol-17beta) and inflammatory mediators (Eg. Interleukin-1beta). In related endocrine studies, Dr. Lundin-Schiller’s students are using breast cancer cell lines to analyze suspected estrogen mimicking compounds (xenoestrogens). Xenoestrogens and other endocrine disruptors are suspected causative agents in human and wildlife reproductive system abnormalities.	Dr. Steve Hamilton’s students have worked in monitoring the health of various types of aquatic ecosystems including streams, spring brooks, wetlands and even manmade ponds. The focus of all these biomonitoring projects has been to employ the aquatic macroinvertebrates, like insects and crustaceans that live in these places, to assess ecosystem health. The projects have used both established as well as newly created protocols to make the assessments.
Dr. Cindy Taylor's students have engaged in field/laboratory projects involving amphibians. The latest project actively involved undergraduate students working in the field with plethodontid salmanders as biological indicators of water quality in urban and rural streams. Additionally, in collaboration with Dr. Chad Brooks and Dr. Betsie Rothermel, students have conducted research projects with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, (Chytrid fungus) and local amphibian species. This project involved field collection techniques and DNA based-assays of the chytrid fungus.	Dr. Jeff Lebkuecher’s students examine the use of chlorophyll fluorescence to investigate the effects of environmental stresses on the light reactions of photosynthesis and the use of algae as indicators of water quality.
	Much of the research in Dr. Baskauf’s lab involves rare plant species. Population genetics studies utilize isozymes or AFLP’s (a DNA fingerprinting technique) to assess the genetic variability and population structure of species endemic to Tennessee, and, when possible, to compare the population genetics of widespread relatives with these rare species. Ecophysiological work includes both field and greenhouse-based studies focusing on plant growth, photosynthesis, and/or water potential under various environmental conditions.
Students in Dr. Rothermel’s lab study the effects of habitat fragmentation, diseases, and pollutants on aquatic communities and fauna, especially amphibians. Current projects include: 1) using night-time frog-call surveys to document the factors influencing use of agricultural wetlands by treefrogs; 2) sampling of amphibians in the Great Smoky Mountains and other sites in the southeastern U.S. to determine the prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungal pathogen associated with amphibian die-offs in Central America and the western U.S.; and 3) developing a long-term population monitoring program for stream salamanders and other amphibians in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia.	Dr. Floyd Scott involves both graduate and undergraduate students in field studies of the herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) of the mid-south. Projects range from general inventories of the entire herpetofauna of an area to community and autecological studies of selected groups or individual species. Projects underway in his lab include maintaining and updating an Atlas of Amphibians in Tennessee web site (http://www.apsu.edu/amatlas/index.html), establishment of a web-based Atlas of Reptiles in Tennessee, long-term monitoring of pond-associated herpetofauna at the Milan Army Ammunition Plant in Milan, Tennessee, a study of habitat selection and movements of reintroduced juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles in the Wolf River drainage of West Tennessee, studies on the turtle communities on the Wolf River Wildlife Management Area near LaGrange, Tennessee, and seasonal movements of Western Cottonmouths along the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail near Ashland City, Tennessee.
	Dr. Chad Brooks’ students study the unique genome of Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogenic bacterium responsible for Lyme disease.B. burgdorferi is maintained in nature by a complex enzootic cycle involving ticks and various animal hosts. During this life cycle, B. burgdorferi must adapt to very different environments and navigate diverse tissues types to cause infection.Students focus on identifying genetic elements which facilitate B. burgdorferi’s survival in nature and disease establishment.
Parturition, the process by which the fetus is expelled by the uterus, is largely regulated by the oxytocin receptor (OTR) system. Dr. Sarah Lundin-Schiller’s lab is studying the regulation of the expression of the oxytocin receptor by steroid hormones (Eg. estradiol-17beta) and inflammatory mediators (Eg. Interleukin-1beta). In related endocrine studies, Dr. Lundin-Schiller’s students are using breast cancer cell lines to analyze suspected estrogen mimicking compounds (xenoestrogens). Xenoestrogens and other endocrine disruptors are suspected causative agents in human and wildlife reproductive system abnormalities.	An image of MCF7 breast cancer cells in culture. (400X)