2009 Posters

A Temporal Comparison of the Diet of Rhinoceros Auklets on Destruction Island, WA
Emma Kelsey, Advisor Peter Hodum
University of Puget Sound 1500 N. Warner St, Tacoma WA, 98416

Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) are seabirds found in island colonies off the coast of Washington. Studying the reproduction rates and feeding habits of Rhinoceros Auklets can indicate the status of this marine ecosystem. In this study I explored how the size and species composition of fish found in the feeding bill loads of Rhinoceros Auklets changed significantly on Destruction Island within the 2008 breeding season as well as between the breading seasons of 1970s and 2008. I found that the average bill load weights did not differ within the 2008 season (F=0.514, df=63, p=0.601), showing that the auklets are able to consistently provision their chicks throughout a breeding season and bill load weight is not a sensitive indicator of marine conditions. Species composition of bill loads differed temporally in the 2008 season (x2=266.82, df=16, p<0.001), which shows that proportions of fish caught by the auklets can indicate relative abundance of what species are available. Average bill load weight did not differ between the 1975 and 2008 seasons (x2=1.55, df=2, p>0.05). The species composition of bill loads differed between the seasons (x2=88.72, df=16, p<0.001), The major conclusions that can be drawn from the study are that species composition is a more sensitive indicator of marine conditions and Rhinoceros Auklet diet can serve as index of relative abundance of forage fish species in surrounding marine ecosystem.

Improved Detection of Bacterial Pathogens
Johannis Soto Benitez^1,2, Carlos Abeyta², and Michael Grant^2
1University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR, ²U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bothell, WA

A novel procedure for improving detection of pathogenic bacteria in food samples was evaluated. Transient exposure to very low pH was used to enhance detection of the naturally acid-resistant pathogens Shigella spp. and Shiga Toxin- Producing E. coli (STEC).

Growth of 31 pure cultures of STEC with the acid enrichment procedure was compared to growth using standard methods specified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All 31 stains of STEC grew well using the acid enrichment. Seven strains were unable to grow using the FDA enrichment method and 26 were unable to grow using the USDA method. Failure of a given strain to grow implies that if that strain were present in a food sample it might not be detected and could cause a false negative result with potential adverse impact on public health.

Eleven pure cultures of Shigella spp. were also tested to determine which of three enrichment procedures provided the highest likelihood of subsequently detecting that strain on agar media. Two selective media were used – Shigella Rainbow Agar (SRA) and Hektoen Enteric Agar (HE), as well as the nonselective agar TSAYE. In 28 of 33 trials the best recovery of Shigella was with the acid enrichment procedure, 4 of 33 with Tryptic Soy Broth enrichment and 1 of 33 with FDA Shigella Enrichment Broth (SEB).

Four species of Shigella spp. were also inoculated into lettuce to determine whether the acid enrichment method or SEB was more effective in generating larger numbers of target cells and therefore improving detection on SRA. S. dysenteriae, S. flexneri, and S. boydii were all recovered in larger numbers using the acid enrichment procedure by factors of over 100:1. S. sonnei was recovered in larger numbers by SEB by a factor of 3:1.

The acid enrichment procedure was very effective in improving detection of two important groups of bacterial pathogens.

Signal honesty of condition dependent ornamentaiton in female striped plateau lizards, Sceloporus virgatus
Emily Mulligan
University of Puget Sound. 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma, WA 98416

Honest sexual signals should express the condition of the individual to potential mates by creating a scale of relative quality. In order to test signal honesty in females, I examined whether the sexual ornament of female striped plateau lizards, Sceloporus virgatus, is an honest indication of female quality. Female striped plateau lizards develop an orange patch on their throats during the mating season. Previous research done by Weiss (2006) suggests that female striped plateau lizard’s patches are condition dependent. By manipulating stress in females, I tested whether the patch color and size honestly signals female condition. A trade-off between the response to stress and the ornament was expected due to limited energy resources. I predicted that stressed females have smaller and duller ornaments as compared to the controls. Manipulations included corticosterone implants, tail removal, and blank implants. Clutch and hatchling characteristics were used as a proxy for female reproductive health, and radioimmunoassay was used to quantify the effects of the manipulations. Of the three treatment groups, only the corticosterone implant treatment affected patch development, although both the corticosterone implant and the tail removal treatment groups had reduced reproductive ability and elevated corticosterone plasma levels. Clutch and hatchling characteristics analyses suggest that patch characteristics provide some indication of percent of fertilized eggs in a clutch, the mass of fertilized eggs, and overall clutch mass. Results suggest that patch color and size may be honest signals of female quality for extremely elevated exposure to stress, but not for more intermediate forms of stress.

The Crescent Formation along Lake Cushman's Northern Shore: A Stratigraphic, Structural and Chemical Study
Elizabeth A Smith and Kenneth P Clark (advisor)
University of Puget Sound. 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma, WA 98416

The Crescent formation (Cf) is an unusually thick sequence of subaqueous and subaerial basalts interbedded with sedimentary layers which formed 53-45 Ma. The lower Cf is characterized by subaqueous, pillow basalts which are interbedded with, and underlain by, sedimentary rocks of the Blue Mountain unit while the upper Cf tends to be massive with jointed basalts. The Blue Mountain unit is a continentally-derived fan primarily composed of shales and slates. I examined and mapped the rocks of the lower Cf along Lake Cushman’s northern shore to add to the chemical and structural database on the lower Cf.

I collected twenty three samples for ICP-ES, SEM, petrographic, stratigraphic and structural analysis. ICP-ES analysis indicates that the lower Cf is enriched in calcium and strontium but contains lower silica values than neighboring basalts. Petrographic analysis displayed amygdaloidal weathering with secondary minerals beginning to replace primary minerals, such as plagioclase and pyroxene. Structural data shows a distinct boundary between the Skokomish River shore which was highly faulted with shallower strikes than the Lake Cushman shoreline sections of the study area.

Preliminary analysis indicates that rocks of the Lake Cushman area are similar to those studied in other parts of the Cf, as their chemical data points to a rift setting. This area has undergone a substantial amount of weathering, faulting, and low-grade metamorphism. The orientation of mapped faults indicates that there has been strike slip motion which may have caused a bend in Lake Cushman itself.

A Quick and Simple HPTLC Method for the Detection of Presence of Teucrium Chamaedrys in Scutellaria Baicalensis
Mijeong Jeong, Ph.D., Scientist of QC/QA
Unigen Inc., 2660 Willamette Dr. NE, Lacey, WA 98516

Teucrium chamaedrys (Gemander) has been reported as an adulterant of Scutellaria lateriflora (American skullcap) herbal preparations and is also known to be hepatotoxic. A quick and simple high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed for the detection of T. chamaedrys (Germander) in Scutellaria baicalensis (Chinese skullcap) extract, an ingredient of a proprietary blend product, Univestin. The HPTLC profile of T. chamaedrys was distinguished from that of S. baicalensis by its bright green fluorescence bands. This simple method can be completed in an hour for the quality control of Univestin and its raw material, S. baicalensis. The method is sensitive and able to detect as low as 0.5% (w/w).

Investigating the Ability of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) to Discriminate Between Urine of Patients with Ovarian Cancer and Control Urine
Sarah Apple
University of Puget Sound, Wheelock Student Center, Tacoma, WA 98416

Over 300 honeybees (Apis mellifera) were conditioned to distinguish between varying odors using proboscis extension response training with a sucrose reward. Beginning with simple six and seven carbon compounds, honeybees were increasingly challenged to distinguish between the odors of more complex compound mixtures. When initial tests with cancer and control urine failed, I spent several weeks systematically troubleshooting with different conditioning tactics and sample pools. I then tested fresh urine samples.

A fusion algorithm for assessing intra-specific genetic relationships between bacterial pathogens
D. Meng¹, S.L Broschat^1,2, M.A. Davis², R. Ahmed³, T.E. Besser², and D.R. Call1,^2
1School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, ²Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164
³National Microbiology Laboratory, Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, Winnipeg, MB

Determining phylogenetic relationships between bacterial strains is important in molecular epidemiology studies. Two molecular typing methods, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), are widely used in such studies. In this work, we propose a fusion algorithm that combines the information obtained from both PFGE and MLVA assays to obtain phylogenetic relationships. Two sets of Salmonella enterica are examined; one set includes serovar Typhimurium isolates from a wide range of sampling dates, locations, and host species while the other set includes a group of serovar Newport isolates collected over a limited geographic and temporal scale. Results are assessed by comparison with phage-typing assays and with known epidemiological relationships. The analysis shows that the fusion algorithm provides an improved ability to discriminate between isolates and to infer phylogenetic relationships compared with using either the PFGE or MLVA method alone.

Submitting a Poster

We invite you to submit a Poster Presentation at the 2009 Pac NW Meeting on:

• Botanicals and Dietary Supplements
• Detection and Measurement of Natural Toxins
• Emerging Issues in Food Safety and Security
• Feeds, Fertilizers and Related Agricultural Topics
• Food Nutrition and Food Allergens
• Microbiological Reference Methods
• Pharmaceutical Analysis, Authenticity and Safety
• General Analytical Methods, Quality Assurance and Accreditation
• Environmental Microbiology/Chemistry
• Clinical Microbiology/Chemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Physical Sciences including Nanotechnology

Posters must be submitted by June 2nd, 2009
Also, for non-students to submit a Poster Presentation, at least one of the poster authors must register for AOAC PNW Section. To register for the Annual Meeting please visit our Registration web page. All poster submitters MUST pre-register by May 31, 2009. If you do not pre-register by May 31, your name will not be printed in the Final Program.

Posters will be presented June 18, 2009 (Posters by Exhibitors/Vendors will be presented June 17, 2009 at exhibitors session)

If you are planning to present a poster please let the Poster Committee know as soon as possible (but no later than May 29, 2008):
Fred Krick (pestchem@msn.com or 206.522.8013),
Carlos Abeyta, Jr. (carlos.abeyta@fda.hhs.gov or 425.483.4890),
Mike Grant (mike.grant@fda.hhs.gov or 425.402.3179),
or Don Bark (don.bark@fda.hhs.gov or 425.402.3165)

Submission of Abstracts: Abstracts will be published at our website. Submit abstracts to Carlos Abeyta, Jr. (see email above). Please include the following:

1. Your name and title.
2. Affiliation and address
3. Title of your paper
4. Abstract body.

For example:
“A Rapid Method for Determining E. coli 0157:H7”
John Smith, Microbiologist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 22201 23 rd. Dr. S.E. Bothell Washington 98021-4421
Abstract Body (Please see GUIDELINES below)

GUIDELINES for Preparation of Posters:

1. Dimension of poster should not exceed 1 meter X 1 meter.
2. Freestanding boards will be provided for presenting posters and pins will be provided.
3. All posters must be written in English. If the author is non-English speaking, consider having the poster reviewed by an English-speaking person before submitting.
4. All posters should include the title and author information, abstract, methods, results and discussion.