Advisor(s)

Dr. Janice Glime

Professor, Biological Sciences

Dr. Andrew Storer

Assistant Professor, Forestry

Student Researcher

Janet Frederick

Project Title

Lure Effectiveness at Attracting Wood Boring Insects in Different Forest Types

Sponsor

School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and NSF REU Program

Abstract

There are many different chemicals used to attract wood boring insects.  A new lure has recently been developed to attract long-horned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) but the chemical composition is not available as it is proprietary information.  Several experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of this new lure compared with some commonly used lures, such as those releasing high doses of ethanol and alpha-pinene.  These experiments were conducted in two forest types to determine the new lures attractiveness to bark and wood inhabiting insects in deciduous and coniferous forests.  The new lure caught significantly more long-horned beetles in coniferous forests compared with other lures, though trap catches were small. It was found that Cleridae and Scolytidae were attracted to the new long-horned beetle lures in large numbers.

Advisor(s)

Dr. Casey Huckins

Associate Professor, Biological Sciences

Student Researcher

Liang Yin

Project Title

Studies on fish scale formation and development in brook trout (Salvelinus fortinalis)

Sponsor

Phi Sigma National Biology Honor Society

Abstract

The ability to accurately determine fish age and growth is a critical tool in the continued study of fish ecology. There are several approaches: capture-mark-recapture, length-frequency distributions, back-calculation using previous data, and hard part examination (Jearld 1983). Within these, fish scale analysis is an economical and easy way to estimate fish age and growth (Szedlmayer 1991). In my experiment, I undertake investigations on juvenile brook trout using alizarin red staining and light microscopy. My goal is to know whether there is relationship between the formation of fish scales and fish age, the formation of fish scales and fish length, and what the relationship is. Over the course of the research, I am more convinced that scale formation is more closely related to fish length than to fish age.

Advisor(s)

Dr. Donald R. Lueking

Associate Professor, Dir. of Graduate Studies, Biological Sciences

Student Researcher

James Y. Wee

Project Title

Comparison of the Membrane Protein Profiles of Glucose and Naphthalene Grown Cells of Pseudomonas fluorescens strain Uper-1

Sponsor

MTU Department of Biological Sciences

Abstract

Naphthalene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and is known to be both mutagenic and carcinogenic. Although numerous studies have appeared concerning the mechanism of naphthalene catabolism by microorganisms, the mode of assimilation of naphthalene, and other PAH’s, by microorganisms remains unclear.  Since the bioremediation of PAH’s in soil and water relies upon the presence of an efficient acquisition system, as well as an efficient mechanism for catabolism, our studies have focused upon the mode of assimilation of PAH’s by members of the genus Pseudomonas. Previous studies (Whitman et al., 1995) have indicated that P. fluorescens strain Uper-1 possesses an active transport system for the assimilation of naphthalene. However, such a transport system has never been identified. Our studies, therefore, are focused upon comparing the membrane protein profiles of glucose grown and naphthalene grown cells of P. fluorescens strain Uper-1 in an initial attempt to identify membrane-associated proteins specifically expressed in naphthalene grown cells.   It is proposed that one, or more, of these proteins may be involved in the active assimilation of naphthalene. Strain Uper-1 was grown on media with either glucose or naphthalene as the sole source of carbon and the cells were harvested by centrifugation, disrupted and a crude membrane preparation was obtained by differential centrifugation. This membrane was then layered onto a sucrose gradient and subjected to an 18 h centrifugation to resolve the cytoplasmic and outer membranes. Gradients were hand-fractionated and the positions of the outer and inner membranes were determined by the measurement of NADH oxidase activity, KDO (2-keto-3-deoxy-D-manno-octonic acid) and total protein distribution of the fractions. Fractions containing the outer and inner membranes were then individually collected and concentrated by centrifugation and the protein profiles of these fractions were evaluated by SDS-PAGE.  Proteins present in the membranes from naphthalene grown cells, but absent from the membranes of glucose grown cells, were identified as proteins putatively involved in naphthalene assimilation.  These proteins are currently being sequenced and this information will be utilized to identify and isolate the genes that encode the information for their production.  The ultimate objective of this research is to further the understanding of PAH assimilation and catabolism of PAH’s and to use this information for the improvement of procedures for engineered PAH bioremediation.