The Comparative Analysis of the Intraspecies and Interspecies Relationships of Lemur catta Research Category: Environmental Science

Overview

Duke Lemur Center Lemurs exhibit unique behavioral characteristics, some of which are uncommon to other species in nature; however, the display of such attributes offers more insight into the analysis of species relationships and patterns than ever imagined. Thus, closely examining a plethora of contrasting behavior types is essential to characterize the roles that social structures and other behaviors provide for the reasoning behind why they may arise within a lemur group. No research has been completed that has drawn distinct comparisons among the different behaviors that Lemur catta (L. catta) may engage in with and without the presence of an unlike species of lemur due to the experiment’s complex nature. Therefore, the research conducted stemmed from the question, “Does the fact that a captive lemur is held in an environment with other lemurs affect its behavior?” Scan sampling and focal sampling were both utilized to track L. catta relationships and behavior. Over three days, the frequency of a predetermined set of behaviors (ethogram) was observed during thirty-second-time intervals. The Duke Lemur Center (DLC), where this study took place, is the only site currently supporting the stabilization, conservation, and examination of lemurs. The Natural Habitat Enclosures (NHE) closely mimicked the lemurs’ original environment. Two NHEs were observed, NHE2 and NHE4. Studying interactions in two NHE’s generalized the results to larger populations. The hypothesis that more affiliative interactions would occur in an intraspecies group of L. catta was proved by data from two enclosures. This study and supporting data provide insight into what these behaviors mean while revolutionizing the path for fellow researchers and satisfying the conclusion of the behavioral structures that exist. How Does Ambient Particulate Matter Induce Lung Cancer? miR-21 is Involved in Malignant Transformation of Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells by Particulate Matter Exposure Luke Mo duPont Manual High School Louisville, Kentucky Supervising Scientist Qunwei Zhang, MD, MPH PhD University of Louisville Several epidemiological studies have shown that long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) is an important and independent environmental risk factor for lung cancer. Howe ver, the mechanisms are still unclear. The hypothesis of this study is that PM may cause DNA damage in human lung epithelial cells through PM-induced oxidative stress, which may further induce DNA damage response. Long- term exposure to PM may cause DNA repair deficiency and microRNA-21 (miR-21, a cancer-promoting onco-miR) upregulation, resulting in increased genomic instability and cell transformation. To test this hypothesis, urban particulate matter SRM 1648a (U-PM) was used to treat normal human bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B. The results sho wed that exposure of BEAS-2B cells to non-toxic doses of U-PM caused generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increased phosphorylation of histone H2AX ( H2AX), a sensitive marker for DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Long- term exposure to UPM caused upregulation of miR-21, downregulation of PDCD4 (a tumor suppressor gene), and increased level of anchorage-independent growth of lung epithelial cells, indicating the phenotypic conversion of lung epithelial cells from normal to malignant characteristics. Oxidative stress and the miR-21/PDCD4 pathway may be involved in this cell malignant transformation process.

Awards (1)

• 2nd Place Life Sciences

Competition history

• JSHS 2020 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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