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Life Sciences

James Madison University

Theses/Dissertations

2017

Blindness

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Epigenetic Regulation Of Crx And Nrl Binding To Regulatory Elements In The Genomes Of Human Retinal Neurons, Courtney B. Stout May 2017

Epigenetic Regulation Of Crx And Nrl Binding To Regulatory Elements In The Genomes Of Human Retinal Neurons, Courtney B. Stout

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The retina is a neuronal tissue lining the back of the eye containing rod and cone photoreceptors that make vision possible. Highly regulated transcriptional networks control differentiation and maintenance of photoreceptors in the retina. DNA methylation of cytosine bases in genomic DNA is an epigenetic modification correlated with repression of gene expression. Currently in our lab, the biochemical relationship between DNA methylation and the ability of retina-specific transcription factors to bind in the genome is being studied. These transcription factors, known as cone-rod homeobox (CRX) and neural leucine zipper (NRL), have been shown to act synergistically to control photoreceptor expression …