COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES, AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES PRESENTATIONS
Format: [ V – Virtual presentation | P – Poster presentation | In – In-Person presentation ]
Team presentation names listed in order of proposal submission
Biology
Alexia Bazalekos( V, P, In) The Chemoselectivity of Aldo-ketoreductases in the Presence of Unsaturated Aldehyde Substrates Biocatalysis, the use of enzymes to facilitate chemical reactions, offers sustainable alternatives to conventional reduction methods. Aldo-ketoreductases( AKRs) catalyze the reduction of aldehydes and ketones, synthesizing enantiomerically pure alcohols, crucial for pharmaceutical production. This study explores the selective reduction of aldehydes by AKRs from radishes in the presence of C = C bonds, using cinnamaldehyde as a substrate. Thin-layer chromatography and highperformance liquid chromatography analysis showed that only the aldehyde group was reduced, demonstrating the enzyme’ s specificity. These findings highlight the potential of plant-derived AKRs for selective reductions, offering valuable application in producing enantiomerically pure alcohols.
Joshua Kolasa( V, P, In) An Investigation of the Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Microorganisms Residing on Rhinichthys atratulus and Notropis cornutus Biodiversity is essential for the function and stability of any ecosystem, and scientific studies of biodiversity have primarily focused on plants and animals because they are easily observable. Microorganisms are equally, if not more important, for these processes but are often overlooked in biodiversity studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biodiversity of bacterial microbiomes, in relation to host organisms. To do so, microbiomes of two fish species were studied: Rhinichthys atratulus and Notropis cornutus. Through metagenomic analysis and data comparisons, the intra-species diversity was found to be similar, while the cross-species comparison showed low similarity.
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