SMU Biology Newsletter

Vol. XXXIII, No. 3 - - March 2008

2008-04-09T10:18:00.004-05:00

FROM THE CHAIR

2008-04-09T10:09:00.003-05:00

The Biology Department is pleased to announce that a new faculty member has been hired for next year. Dr. Casey Finnerty, who received his Ph.D. in Entomology from Cornell University, will be teaching Cell Biology, Genetics, and other courses. Thanks to all who participated in the search process, including students who attended the seminar presentations by the candidates and provided helpful feedback.

Many of our faculty members are busy outside of the classroom with activities that are “behind the scenes” but contribute to the continued success and visibility of our department. Some of these activities are perennial; some of them arise only occasionally but demand much time and energy during concentrated periods of time. At the risk of leaving many of these contributions out, I’d like to acknowledge some: Drs. McConville and Minnerath direct the Resource Analysis and Allied Health programs, respectively, which indirectly or directly provide many opportunities for our students to continue professionally. Dr. Minnerath recently completed the five-year review process for continuing the accreditation of our nuclear medicine technology program. Dr. Martin recently directed the Southeastern Minnesota Regional Science Fair and continues as District Director of Beta Beta Beta. Dr. Krainock this year took on the role of advisor to our students in the Mayo Scholars program, while Dr. Korte continues as a member of the board of trustees at Alverno College. And who are we going to get to keep our Journal Club, Biology Department Seminar, and Undergraduate Research Symposium going when Dr. Kowles steps down this year?

“We’re going to need a bigger culture dish!” Another award-winning cauliflower was produced by the Tuesday morning Botany/Zoology lab section as a result of the cauliflower-cloning experiment. Other awards (not pictured) went to students from other lab sections for Most Prolific Growth of Bacteria and Best in Show (Fungal Category). April Fools!

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

2008-04-09T10:08:00.000-05:00

The 2008 Undergraduate Research Symposium in Biology will be held on Friday, April 4. This year, the presentations will take place in Brother Charles Hall and Hoffman Hall. The featured speaker will be Dr. Anne Pussey, Director of the Jane Goodall Institute for Primate Studies at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Pussey has studied chimpanzees under the guidance of Jane Goodall for many years, and she will discuss chimpanzee behavior in her presentation. The talk will be given in the Page Theater. Place these important biology department events on your calendar. Questions can be directed to Dr. Kowles, director of the symposium.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

2008-04-09T10:07:00.000-05:00

Cochran, P.A. 2008. Observations on giant American brook lampreys (Lampetra appendix). Journal of Freshwater Ecology 23:161-164.

Cochran, P.A. 2008. Mystery fish identified (again!). American Currents 34(1):24-25.

STUDENT RESEARCH

2008-04-09T10:04:00.001-05:00

Jennifer Giannini is studying chromosome non-disjunction. She has capitalized on a maize assay system and previous research by other Saint Mary’s students. Jennifer is determining the effects of several chemicals on chromosome non-disjunction using an in vitro system in male gameto genesis of maize. She is advised by Dr. Kowles.

Jenna Lindgren is also doing a cytogenetic investigation using maize. Jenna is looking at the development of tapetal cells in male gametogenesis. Tapetal cells are nurse cells during pollen development that often become binucleate. Jenna is determining the temporal stages of becoming binucleate and DNA content changes in these cells. Jenna is also being advised by Dr. Kowles.

David Gross and Mark Montanari are seniors working with Dr. Debra Martin to determine the effect of Melaleuca oil on growth and development of murine (mice) B lymphocytes. Melaleuca oil is a natural oil isolated from Australiatea trees. Currently it is marketed by Melaleuca, Inc. as a natural antiseptic, fungicide and cleanser and is found in a variety of products such as toothpaste, soaps, vitamins. Previous research determined the growth curve of cells grown in the presence of 0.01%, 0.1% and 1.0% purified melaleuca oil. The data showed that the cells ceased to divide. David is using the flow cytometer to analyze whether melaleuca oil is altering the cell cycle, while Mark is using the fluorescent microscope to analyze the cell cycle.

Jon Pace and Kendra Maloney are performing their senior research with Dr. Debra Martin. They are studying exercise-induced asthma and the contribution of airway-derived nitric oxide (NO) in inducing relaxation of smooth muscle in the bronchi. Nitric oxide is synthesized by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS), of which different isoforms, such as iNOS, have been proven to generate small amounts of bronchoprotective nitric oxide in response to certain stimuli to counteract the symptoms. A recent study has shown an association with the iNOS gene and severity of asthma and eosinophils. Jon and Kendra will be amplifying this gene and correlating its polymorphic sequence to those people that have exercise-induced asthma.

ALUMNI NEWS

2008-04-09T10:03:00.000-05:00

Dori Wasmundt (1996) lives in Canyon, TX where she is a physician assistant in a community health center.

Scott Brejcha (2000) and Keith Jones from V3 Companies of Illinois spoke at one of our biology seminars about their Summer Wetland Field Internship Program. They also conducted a number of interviews with current SMU biology students for summer intern positions.

Theresa Miller (2003) is a graduate student at Marquette University studying plant genetics. She has recently received acceptance for her first publication. It will appear in a future issue of Planta and is titled “A maize CONSTANS-like gene, conz1, exhibits distinct diurnal expression patterns in varied photoperiods.” Theresa’s work deals with flowing plants.

Kelsey McAnally (2006) is very excited that she has been accepted to attend Lincoln Memorial University – DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, TN in the fall of 2008. Currently, she is continuing to teach in South Korea and loves it.

Annie Regenscheid (2006) is working at the National Marrow Donor Program in Minneapolis, MN. She is very busy and loves it.

Tom Stewart (2006) has been accepted to several medical schools. He has been accepted to several medical schools. He has decided to accept The University of Minnesota.

POSTERS AT THE CAPITOL

2008-04-09T10:01:00.001-05:00

Several SMU students, accompanied by Drs. Minnerath, Kowles, and Cochran, presented posters at the event Scholars at the Capitol, sponsored by Minnesota’s Private Colleges in the State Capitol Rotunda in St. Paul on February 21, 2008:

Anna T. Skonieczny — The Effects of Demethylating and Methylating Chemicals on Mitotic Activity of Vicia faba in Different Stages of the Cell Cycle.

Sarah J. Schroeder — Examination of the Diet of the Freshwater Drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, for Zebra Mussels, Dreissena polymorpha from the Mississippi River.

Laura Eggert and Victoria Evans - The Physiological Responses of Lepomis gibbosus and Mus musculus to Noturus gyrinus Toxin.

BETA BETA BETA

2008-04-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Debra Martin visited Luther College Dec. 5th to evaluate the school for membership in the National Beta Beta Beta Honor Society. On Nov. 25, 2007, she installed a new chapter at Minnesota State University-Mankato.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

2008-04-09T09:58:00.001-05:00

Bridget Emmett has served this year as the student contact for the Minnesota Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. This summer she will start a temporary position doing fisheries work for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in Atlantic, Iowa.

Noel Green has been selected to participate in summer programs at the University of Louisville and Columbia University. He has opted for the latter. Congratulations!

Melissa Wolf recently served the Biology Department as a member of the search committee that helped find and select a replacement for Dr. Kowles. Thanks for this important service!

MEMBERS GO WINTER CAMPING

2008-04-09T09:55:00.000-05:00

Nine Biology Club members joined Davey Warner, SMU’s Director of Outdoor Leadership, on a winter camping adventure, February 23-24th. Students had a great time hiking up the bluffs, setting up camp, enjoying the outdoors, and trying to stay warm! The students appreciated the opportunity to participate in this experience and most said they would do it again. A special thanks was extended to Davey Warner for sharing his time and talents.

BIOLOGY CLUB TO VISIT WHITEWATER STATE PARK FOR MAPLE TREE TAPPING

2008-04-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

The Biology Club plans to visit Whitewater State Park on Saturday, March 29, to learn about Maple Tree Tapping. The students will learn about the process of tapping maple trees to collect sap and producing maple syrup from the sap. At the end of the demonstration, ice cream topped with maple syrup will be sampled. The group will then head over to Dr. Minnerath’s house to enjoy a meal of Chinese food and pizza (what a mixture!). If you are interested in learning more about this event or how to get involved in the Biology Club, contact Dr. Minnerath or one of the club officers (Sarah Metcalf, John Tarras, Lori Brunner, Melissa Wolf and Betsy Baertlein).

SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR HOSTS YOUNG SCIENTISTS

2008-04-09T09:40:00.003-05:00

Saint Mary’s University hosted 150 young scientists on February 29th to compete in the Southeast Minnesota Western Wisconsin Regional Science Fair, an affiliate of the Minnesota Academy of Science. Students presented their science research projects and papers and competed for awards and prizes. Dr. Debra Martin was the on-site director of this year’s fair. Dr. Carolyn Ayers (English) was the chair of the research papers. A thank-you to all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to read papers and judge projects.

DR. MARTIN'S HUMAN BIOLOGY SHOWED THEIR CREATIVE ABILITIES WITH ORGANELLE POEMS:

2008-04-09T09:36:00.002-05:00

Anonymous
Ode to the Mitochondria
All the cells in you and me are powered by some energy,
These capsules may be really small, but their task is not at all.
When food and oxygen combine, ATP is what you’ll find.
Mitochondria are not very few, They have their own ribosome’s, and DNA too.
The number of these can be few to many, from cell to cell, the organelle vary.
Inner membrane, outer membrane, inter membrane space,
The inner is the one, who contains the cristae.
This power plant makes ATP, the universal source of energy
They’re not very big, so its easy to miss em,
Although small in size, they regulate metabolism.
The system consists of chemiosmosis, one of the steps, being glycosis.
They are a part of the cytoskeleton, surrounded by the cytoplasm gelatin.
While Mitochondria are, surrounded by this gel,
They’re in the cytoplasm, of eukaryotic cells.
If they dysfunction they may leave disease, one of these known as diabetes.
So remember the mitochondria, next time you run,
Without its energy, you wouldn’t be much fun.

By Dana Winkler
Ode to an Organelle - Golgi apparatus
The Golgi Apparatus is a mystery to you and me,
But when mitosis rolls around, it will have to flee.
But no worries, it will be around once more,
And help process proteins like it always did before.
The main goal will be to sugar all the proteins up,
Through a process called glycosylation but that’s just not enough.
Golgi will also secrete the cell wall in a plant cell.
Which takes a lot of energy to expel.
The Golgi processes the proteins, which will help the plants to grow.
The vesicles inside it will make the enzymes flow.
The Golgi is made up of the cisternae which are lipid membranes,
The Golgi has complex properties but easy to explain.
Basically it helps move the proteins along,
And so it could come together and make this perfect song!

By Rachel Elbert
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
Lost within the maze
We are the rough ER
Between the Golgi Apparatus and Nucleus
One cannot get there by car
We transport large molecules
And act in protein synthesis
And if it were not for us
The cell would be amiss
Sometimes we form a branched reticulum
That likes to expand
As the cell is active in protein synthesis
Just because we can

By Nikki Kolupailo
Ode to an Organelle
Composed of nine triplets of microtubules
Eukaryotic cells is where this organelle is found
New centrioles, “the daughter”, grow from existing ones, “the mother”
Takes the shape of short, rod-like microtubule structures
Replicate independently
Interesting fact: A centriole determines the position of the nucleus & plays a crucial role in the spatial arrangement of cell organelles
Organize the spindle apparatus on which the chromosomes move during mitosis
Located near the nucleus
Essential to the process of cell division - aligns & divides genetic material of cells

By Stephanie Marnocha
Ode to an Organelle
In the cell,
There’s an organelle,
And it’s called the mitochondria.
It’s shaped like a slipper,
But it’s a whole lot hipper
Because it’s the mitochondria.
In the cytoplasm is where it can be found,
Amongst other organelles, just floating around,
Because it’s the mitochondria.
With a nice and smooth outer shell,
It is the power plant of the cell
Because it’s the mitochondria.
Inside the outer membrane, there is another,
But this one’s folded like churned butter,
Protecting the mitochondria.
In the fluids in the folds,
There is something there more precious than gold
Because it helps the mitochondria.
The protein enzymes that are inside
Act as a catalyst to the bonds that reside
Inside the mitochondria.
When these proteins break down those chemical bonds,
The powerful organelle must then respond
Because it’s the mitochondria.
Once the bonds are broken and energy is released,
ATP is made before the cell can become deceased,
And it comes from the mitochondria.
As you can see, the mitochondria is a powerful organelle,
Providing energy to the cell,
Keeping it alive day after day
Because that’s the mitochondrial way.