19 Apr 2019

A Novel Method for Rapid Detection and Diagnosis ofHepatozoon Canis in Dogs

Ashley Rosen '19

Canine Hepatozoon canis is a tick-borne pathogen that is becoming more prevalent throughout the world. H.canis is diagnosed with microscope and 18s PCR but the diagnosis is expensive and has limited accessibility in a field setting. A new DNA amplification method called loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay is being used for rapid detection and sensitive diagnosis of infections. The research was conducted to determine if H. canis could be detected by LAMP assay and how sensitivity it was compared to 18S PCR. 250 Blood samples were collected from various locations and was evaluated and testing for H. canis through microscope, 18S PCR and LAMP assay. Furthermore, the LAMP assay primers were evaluated to determine its specificity when compared to other blood parasites in dogs. LAMP assay detected H. canis in 75 blood samples and was specific to only this parasite and didn’t amplify any genomic DNA of B. gibsoni, E. canis, T. evansi and B. vogeli. The LAMP assay had a threshold sensitivity of 15fg which was 10 times greater than that of 18S PCR . The study developed and evaluated a rapid sensitive and highly specific LAMP assay for the detection and diagnosis of H. canis infection in dogs which could be implemented in routine examination.

Evaluating Microplastic Bioaccumulation in Minnesota Lakes

Alex Chang '19

Microplastics already exist in a range of environments and are not removed by wastewater treatment plants. So the amounts of microplastics in our ecosystems will probably increase in the future. There have also been studies linking microplastics to poorer health outcomes. This research is to quantify the amounts of microplastics in organisms and the environment, and evaluate if there is a correlation between trophic level and levels of microplastics inside the organism. To test, I will sample lakes of different urbanization levels, to find the concentrations of microplastics in each lake. From each lake I will also sample organisms and test for the amount of microplastics they contain in their bodies. I will look for a correlation between the environmental levels of microplastics and levels in organism. Last aim I have will be to evaluate if feeding mode of primary consumer zooplankton affects the amount of microplastic uptake. I expect that as the urbanization level decrease, so will the concentrations of microplastics. I also expect to see a positive correlation between the concentrations of habitat microplastics and organismal microplastics. I expect that the amount of microplastics will increase as the trophic levels increase, creating a bioaccumulation factor. Lastly, I expect that the filter-feeding zooplankton will have higher counts of organismal microplastics than size-specific zooplankton.

Treating Eutrophic Rivers with Floating Island Systems

Kyle Mehrhof ‘19

The impacts of water pollution are a growing area of concern. While some methods exist that attempt to mitigate the issue, such as buffer strips, they require valuable space on land or are too costly. An alternative to these techniques are integrated floating island systems. These consist of a variety of plants grown upon constructed islands placed into a body of water such as a river. Integrated floating islands are capable of removing excess nutrients from the water and the vegetation can potentially be utilized as animal feed.

Identification of Felis catus for Forensic Purposes using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms

Sabrina Doeden '19