Biology subjects

Kohalmi, S. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Kohalmi, S. E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Undergraduate Research in the Department of Biology at Western University: Effect on project types, learning outcomes, and student perceptions.

Undergraduate research is a high impact practice that offers numerous benefits to students, academic institutions, and the wider scientific community. Unfortunately, undergraduate research has faced restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted: (1) the number and types of undergraduate research projects performed in the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario, and (2) the satisfaction-levels and perceived learning outcomes of students performing these projects. This study also aimed to incorporate a One Health framework through an emphasis on stakeholder involvement and the need for future action. A survey of 33 students who completed an undergraduate research project in the Department of Biology in the 2020/2021 academic year, and 68 students who completed an undergraduate research project in the 5 years prior was conducted. In keeping with the One Health approach, key stakeholders were identified, and a stakeholder map was constructed. The number of projects performed did not change dramatically despite COVID-19 restrictions. However, a shift towards dry research was observed with 87.9% of students in the 2020/2021 academic year conducting dry research, compared to 16.4% of students in the 5 years prior. Students who conducted research in the 2020/2021 academic year indicated lower overall levels of satisfaction and enjoyment, though their perceived learning outcomes were consistent with students who completed their projects in the 5 years prior. 53 key stakeholders from academia, government, industry, media, and the public were identified. Students provided invaluable feedback on their undergraduate research experiences that can be used to improve the quality of undergraduate research courses in the Department of Biology in the future. Findings may be of use to other departments and educational institutions that are seeking to improve their own undergraduate research courses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic or looking to incorporate experiential-based learning techniques into existing online courses.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2023

NUCLEOPORIN1 mediates proteasome-based degradation of ABI5 to regulate Arabidopsis seed germination

NUCLEOPORIN1 (NUP1), a member of the Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC), is located on the inner side of the nuclear membrane. It is highly expressed in seeds; however, its role in seeds including germination has not been explored yet. Here, we identified an abscisic acid (ABA) hypersensitive phenotype of nup1 during germination. ABA treatment drastically changes the expression pattern of thousands of genes in nup1, including the major transcription factors (TFs) involved in germination, ABI3, ABI4, and ABI5. Double mutant analysis of NUP1 and these ABA-related genes showed that mutations in ABI5 can rescue the phenotype of nup1, suggesting that NUP1 acts upstream of ABI5 to regulate seed germination. ABI5, a key negative regulator of germination, is abundant in dry seeds and rapidly degrades during germination. However, its spatiotemporal regulation and interaction with other molecular players during degradation remained to be fully elucidated. We found that NUP1 is physically associated with ABI5 and the 26S proteasome. Mutation in NUP1 delayed ABI5 degradation through its post-translational retention in nucleolus under abiotic stress. Taken together, our findings suggest that NUP1 anchors the proteasome to NPC and modulates seed germination through proteasome-mediated degradation of ABI5 in the vicinity of NPC in the nucleoplasm.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

RNA Polymerase II Independent Recruitment of SPT6 at Transcription Start Sites in Arabidopsis

SPT6 is a conserved transcription regulator that is generally viewed as an elongation factor. However, emerging evidence show its potential role in the control of transcription initiation at genic and intragenic promoters. Here we first present the genome-wide occupancy of Arabidopsis SPT6-like (SPT6L) and demonstrate its conserved role in facilitating RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) occupancy across transcribed genes. Further, we show that SPT6L enrichment is shifted, unexpectedly, from gene body to the transcription starting site (TSS) when its association with RNAPII is disrupted. Finally, we demonstrate that recruitment of SPT6L starts at TSS, and then spreads to the gene body during transcription. These findings refine the mechanisms underlying SPT6L recruitment in transcription and shed light on the role of SPT6L in transcription initiation.

molecular biology↗