Projects for student researchers include

• 1. The Effect of Hypergravity and Microgravity on Macrophage cytoskeleton
  Rearrangment, and Phagocytic and bacteriocidal functions The study will be conducted using tissue cultured human macrophage cells. The macrophages will be exposed to heat killed bacteria. The objectives are to determine the ability of the macrophages to phagocytize the fluorescein- labeled bacteria under hypergravity and microgravity conditions. The studies are being done using fluorescence microscopy. The activation of the oxidative burst, subsequent to phagocytosis is also being tested. Respiratory burst results in the generation of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI). Quantitation of ROI will be done using oxidative probe dihydrorhodamine (DHR). DHR diffuses into live cells. In the presence of ROI, such as H2O2, DHR is oxidized to the fluorescent compound rhodamine 123. The fluorescence intensity correlates with the level of respiratory burst. Since the phagocytic function is dependent on cytoskeleton structure, the effect of gravitational conditions on actin rearrangement will also be studied. Cytoskeleton study is done, using Rhodamine-phalloidin staining for actin.
  
  Student learning:
  Conceptual: Conditions in space flight; theory in simulation of hypergravity, and microgravity (free fall). Interaction between microorganisms and phagocytes.
  Hands-on: Tissue culture under normal, microgravity, and hypergravity conditions; fluorescent microscopy; use of various fluorescent dyes to study cellular structure and function.
  
• 2.Isolation of Oyster Sperm Protein that Stimulates Spawning
  The first objective of this project is to purify from American oysters an intrinsic membrane protein that stimulates mass spawning of the oysters. Gonadal tissue is harvested from mature oysters from April to June. Only tissues containing sperm is used fro membrane preparation. The second objective is to develop bioassays to test the extracted intrinsic proteins. Mass spawning is activated when the intrinsic sperm protein stimulates contraction of the adductor muscle. The extracted proteins will be HPLC purified, and introduced to oysters cultivated in the laboratory. The material ejected from the oysters is examined for the presence of eggs or sperms. The desired protein will be peptide sequenced for gene mining in the gene bank.
  
  Student learning:
  Conceptual:Life cycle of marine bivalves (oyster); pheromones isolated in the marine environment; aquaculture; genomics and proteomics.
  Hands-on:Biochemical methods, such as protein extractions and purification; protein electrophoresis; light microscopy; oyster cultivation; data base mining.
  
• 3. The effect of environmental factors and infection on growth and gonadogenesis of oysters
  Oysters are harvested from Galveston Bay and from colonies in our local waters. Temperature and salinity on the day of sampling, and the degree of Dermo infection are noted. The size of the oysters are measured. Gonadal tissue is harvested primarily in the spring. The tissues are homogenized, and RNA are extracted from the tissues. Total RNA level is to be determined, and PCR is to be performed on the RNA samples using specific primers for vitellogenin and glutathione S-transferase. The tissue samples are also tested for the presence of heavy metals and known environmental endocrine disrupting compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tributyltin (TBT) and triphenltin (TPhT).
  
  Student learning:
  Conceptual:Life cycle of marine bivalves (oyster); environmental endocrine disruptors; genomics and proteomics.
  Hands-on: Molecular biological methods, such as RNA extraction and PCR; chemical analysis for metals and endocrine disruptors; field sampling technique .
  
• 4.Onset and Transmission of Neisseria Meningitides in a Population of College Students
  Neisseria Meningitidis is one of the causative agents of bacterial meningitis. With the recent outbreak of incidents in which children contract the deadly brain inflammation Neisseria Meningitidis becomes a growing concern relating to the risk factors involved in the possibility of a meningitidis epidemic. The present project was conceived to test the hypothesis that stress is a primary cause for the proliferation of this bacterium. Approximately 300 TAMUCC students will be periodically tested for their stress level and carriage of Neisseria Meningitidis. College students provide an ideal population for such a study as there is a predictable variation in their stress level during the different phases of the semester. The stress level of the students will be determined by measuring the saliva alpha-amylase level. The nasal swabs will be used to perform identification of Neisseria Meningitidis carriers by Polymerase Chain Reaction method.
  
  Student learning:
  Conceptual:Microbiology, epidemiology, stress and physiology
  Hands-on: Molecular biology methods, such as PCR; biochemical analysis for stress proteins