EAST TENNESSEE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

March 2017 Meeting


Monday, March 13, 2017
6:00 - 7:30 pm

Pellissippi State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville
J.L Goins Administration Building
Faculty/Staff Dining Room

 

MARCH MEETING

Internal Respiratory Structures of Blastoids Provide a Better Understanding of Past Relationships

By
Jen Bauer, PhD Candidate
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee

Abstract

To test extinct relationships, morphological trends, and paleoecological factors we must first provide a quantitative framework to assess these questions. Paleontologists are limited to the external anatomical features of extinct forms and lack molecular data. Herein, I present work done to augment the external morphology with internal morphology to provide a more complete understanding of past relationships. The results suggest that the internal anatomy produces relationships that are better constrained and, in this case, different from the external data alone.

 

Environmental Controls on Microbial Extracellular Enzymes in Freshwater

By
Abigail Barrett, MS Candidate
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee

Abstract

A longstanding goal of organic biogeochemistry is to open the “black box” of microbial community metabolic capacity in order to understand how the vast complexity of organic chemical structures and microbial metabolisms give rise to observed patterns of organic matter reactivity. Microbial communities use diverse suites of extracellular enzymes to efficiently access complex organic compounds, which constitute the majority of bioavailable organic matter. Microorganisms degrade proteins using exo- and endo-acting extracellular peptidases (enzymes which cleave proteins from the ends or the middle, respectively) in varying ratios, implying different pathways for protein degradation. Environmental controls on these pathways have not been constrained. Here we investigate the extent to which the freshness of organic matter and other water quality parameters control pathways of protein degradation as indicated by the ratio of exopeptidases to endopeptidases.


 

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