Kaylee Weigel and Kathleen Ruff-Schmidt, microbiology majors in the NDSU Department of Microbiological Sciences, published an article about their capstone course project in the American Journal of Undergraduate Research.

The paper is titled, "Preventing the Activation of a Stress Gene Response in Escherichia coli Using Acetate, Butyrate and Propionate.”

Weigel and Ruff-Schmidt describe the expression of certain genes that contribute to the stress response in E. coli in response to short chain fatty acids. It turned out that three of these – acetate, butyrate and propionate – have a protective effect on gene expression when bacteria get stressed. This is relevant because of the use of short chain fatty acids to "rescue the gut microbiota and restore normal functions in those who experience metabolic syndromes that correlate with the depletion of normal levels of these fatty acids.”

The capstone course was taught by Birgit Pruess, professor of microbiological sciences, and the student group was mentored by Danielle Condry, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Microbiological Sciences.

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