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Kinematics Of Bowing The Re-Strung Violin, Sarah Hayden Apr 2024

Kinematics Of Bowing The Re-Strung Violin, Sarah Hayden

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Building upon existing research in motor learning and sensorimotor control, this thesis explores how the performance of a real-world task (playing a simple musical piece on the violin) is impacted by the spatial re-arrangement of the violin’s strings, and how performance recovers with practice (relearning). I recorded audio performances and bow kinematics as violinists with a wide range of prior skills played a familiar 2-octave G-Major arpeggio 50 times. Some subjects played all 50 arpeggios on a violin with the standard string arrangement (the control violin). Another set of subjects played the middle 30 arpeggios with a “similar” violin with …


Development And Validation Of A Vehicle Front Profile Finite Element Model To Evaluate Pedestrian Impacts, James Wolf Apr 2024

Development And Validation Of A Vehicle Front Profile Finite Element Model To Evaluate Pedestrian Impacts, James Wolf

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In 2021, there were nearly 7500 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in the U.S., the highest since 1981. Since the year 2000, Europe and Japan have adopted pedestrian crash protection programs for vehicles and have seen a decline in pedestrian fatalities; the U.S. has not yet adopted pedestrian crash protection and has seen an increase in pedestrian fatalities in that same time. European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) outlines a detailed procedure for evaluations of new vehicles for pedestrian safety through headform, upper legform, and lower legform tests. Euro NCAP also uses generic finite element (FE) front-end vehicle models, …


Characterizing Allosteric Regulation And Conformational Dynamics In Staphylococcus Aureus Pyruvate Carboxylase, Amanda Joan Laseke Oct 2023

Characterizing Allosteric Regulation And Conformational Dynamics In Staphylococcus Aureus Pyruvate Carboxylase, Amanda Joan Laseke

Dissertations (1934 -)

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) produces oxaloacetate from pyruvate and bicarbonatein an ATP-dependent manner. The catalytic activity of PC places it at a pivotal intersection between catabolism and anabolism. Understanding the essential metabolic role of PC requires a more complete description of how its activity is regulated and how that regulation is manifested through changes in conformational dynamics. PC activity is regulated by the mutually exclusive binding of the allosteric activator, acetyl-CoA, and the allosteric inhibitor, L-aspartate. The binding site for acetyl- CoA has largely been identified, but the binding location for the acetyl moiety is unknown. Given that the acetyl moiety …


Magnetic Endothelialization Of Flow Diverters To Promote Rapid Healing Of Cerebral Aneurysms, Amanda Thome Oct 2023

Magnetic Endothelialization Of Flow Diverters To Promote Rapid Healing Of Cerebral Aneurysms, Amanda Thome

Dissertations (1934 -)

Cerebral aneurysms are dilations of normal vasculature in the brain. When patients are diagnosed with a cerebral aneurysm there are many different treatment options, but one of the newest treatments is flow diversion. Flow diverters create a barrier over the neck of the aneurysm that restores flow to the parent vessel and away from the aneurysm. While these devices have high success rates thus far, they are still associated with some clinical issues such as in-stent thrombosis, delayed aneurysmal occlusion, and side brand occlusion. To mitigate this the current standard of treatment includes a dual anti-platelet therapy regimen which poses …


Probiotic Compounds Inhibit Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Formation, Reduce Virulence, & Improve Antibiotic Sensitivity, Kyle R. Leistikow Oct 2023

Probiotic Compounds Inhibit Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Formation, Reduce Virulence, & Improve Antibiotic Sensitivity, Kyle R. Leistikow

Dissertations (1934 -)

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections are a top five global public health threat, causing 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths annually in the US alone. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most clinically important MDR pathogens in the world with infections leading to high rates of morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals. This bacterium's ability to form protective biofilms further complicates classical antibiotic interventions, highlighting the need for new therapeutics with novel mechanisms of action. The goal of this dissertation was to investigate antibiofilm mechanisms employed by probiotic bacteria to reduce S. aureus virulence and mitigate antimicrobial resistance evolution …


Improving Cold Tolerance Of Asian Rice Through Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria And Rice Gene Manipulation: Mechanisms Of Pseudomonas Mosselli And Osmads27, Nasim Maghboli Balasjin Jul 2023

Improving Cold Tolerance Of Asian Rice Through Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria And Rice Gene Manipulation: Mechanisms Of Pseudomonas Mosselli And Osmads27, Nasim Maghboli Balasjin

Dissertations (1934 -)

It is estimated that by the year 2050, the human population will extend to 9.7 billion and therefore the demand for food will increase. It is important to find ways to maintain production of critical crops, like rice, to match the demand. Climate change affects crop productivity as it is the reason for extreme warm or cold weather fluctuations. Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) generally is grown in tropical and subtropical regions and thus, is sensitive to cold temperatures. This study hypothesized two strategies could improve growth and cold tolerance of rice plants: (1) use of plant growth promoting bacteria …


Targeted Mapping Of Oryza Sativa Chilling Tolerance Candidate Genes Using Multiple Stress-Relevant Quantitative Traits, Naoki Simon Shimoyama Apr 2023

Targeted Mapping Of Oryza Sativa Chilling Tolerance Candidate Genes Using Multiple Stress-Relevant Quantitative Traits, Naoki Simon Shimoyama

Dissertations (1934 -)

Developing chilling tolerant accessions of domesticated Asian rice is a potential source of significant crop improvement to address the needs of a growing global population. The uniquely chilling sensitive nature of the tropically originating Oryza sativa make it the most important staple crop that could gain the maximum benefit from improved tolerance to low temperature stress. However, mechanisms underlying this complex trait are not fully understood. Oryza sativa has two major varietal groups with different levels of chilling tolerance, JAPONICA and INDICA, providing an ideal tool to investigate mechanistic differences in the chilling stress tolerance responses within this important crop …


Evidence That The Inner Nuclear Membrane Is A Functional Β1-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling Platform In Astrocytes, Kelsey Benton Apr 2023

Evidence That The Inner Nuclear Membrane Is A Functional Β1-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling Platform In Astrocytes, Kelsey Benton

Dissertations (1934 -)

The noradrenergic system exerts powerful modulatory influences over fundamental brain processes including attention, arousal, learning, and memory by activating adrenergic receptors on neuronal and glial cells. In addition to triggering rapid, transient changes in cellular physiology that drive short-term behavioral actions, these G-protein-coupled receptors also initiate delayed, long-lasting changes in cellular function by regulating gene expression. For example, in astrocytes, norepinephrine-induced activation of β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) rapidly induces glucose mobilization from glycogen stores, while simultaneously initiating delayed changes in the expression of glycogen storage genes. Regulation of gene expression requires adrenergic receptor-initiated intracellular signals to reach the nuclear compartment. To …


Altered Motivation & Dopamine Subcircuit Plasticity Unique To Sex During Protracted Opioid Withdrawal, Devan Marc Gomez Apr 2023

Altered Motivation & Dopamine Subcircuit Plasticity Unique To Sex During Protracted Opioid Withdrawal, Devan Marc Gomez

Dissertations (1934 -)

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is associated with enduring psychological withdrawal symptoms believed to contribute to drug abuse. Amongst these are shifts in motivational states, wherein pursuit of drug consumption exceeds that of non-drug rewards, reinforcing escalated opioid use and relapse vulnerability. A critical regulator of behavioral reinforcement, the mesoaccumbal dopamine system is thought to be both necessary and sufficient for opioid motivation. However, previous research into its involvement in opioid withdrawal has been limited to acute rather than protracted timepoints, global neuroadaptations rather than those in subcircuits, and overwhelmingly focused on males over females. Using a rodent model of self-administration …


Postnatal Developmental Trends In Membrane Excitability And Bk Channel Function In The Rodent Hippocampus, Michael S. Hunsberger Apr 2023

Postnatal Developmental Trends In Membrane Excitability And Bk Channel Function In The Rodent Hippocampus, Michael S. Hunsberger

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation outlines the postnatal development of excitability as well as expression and function of BK potassium channels in hippocampal neurons. I used patch clamp electrophysiology to measure how neuronal action potential waveforms and action potential firing frequencies change in early development, and how pharmacological blockade of BK channels affects these properties in hippocampal neurons. I also describe how the protein expression of the BK channel pore-forming α subunit and mRNA expression of different variants of the pore forming α subunit and auxiliary beta-4 subunit changes with development. I demonstrate in both cultured rat hippocampal neurons across the first seven …


Somatostatin Regulates Circadian Clock Function And Photic Processing, Deborah A. M. Joye Oct 2022

Somatostatin Regulates Circadian Clock Function And Photic Processing, Deborah A. M. Joye

Dissertations (1934 -)

Daily and seasonal rhythms are programmed by neural circuits that use daily timing and duration of light to anticipate predictable environmental changes (i.e., day length, temperature, food, predation). Daily and annual changes in light modulate human health to produce both positive and negative effects, but neural mechanisms underlying light-driven changes in the brain remain poorly understood. In mammals, light is processed and encoded by the brain’s central clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN also encodes day length (i.e., photoperiod) to regulate annual fluctuations in mammalian physiology, but it’s not clear precisely how the SCN network achieves this. One signal …


The Ventral Hippocampus Dynamically Regulates Amygdala Encoding And Learned Fear, Matthew Richard Herbst Oct 2022

The Ventral Hippocampus Dynamically Regulates Amygdala Encoding And Learned Fear, Matthew Richard Herbst

Dissertations (1934 -)

The nervous system has evolved a set of survival circuits optimized to respond to environmental threats. Adaptive threat responding requires learning to predict when and where a threat may occur based on available cues. Such learning depends on a distributed network of brain structures, but there is much we do not understand about how these brain areas interact to support fear memory. Addressing this gap is crucial for understanding anxiety- and fear-related disorders as dysfunction in fear learning networks is implicated in the development and persistence of pathological fear states. In my dissertation work, I used a rodent model of …


Explore The Regulatory Roles Of Micrornas In Sperm Formation And Function Of C. Elegans, Lu Lu Oct 2022

Explore The Regulatory Roles Of Micrornas In Sperm Formation And Function Of C. Elegans, Lu Lu

Dissertations (1934 -)

Gene regulation mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) at the post-transcriptional level is important for producing functional sperm in diverse species including C. elegans. However, the specific regulatory roles of miRNAs in this process are largely unknown. The central goal of my dissertation is to address this question. I proposed to study the function of miRNAs enriched in male gonads, which are approximately 95% germ cells and 5% somatic cells. I isolated adult gonads of males and hermaphrodites for small RNA sequencing and the analysis revealed a differential miRNA expression profile between hermaphrodite and male gonads. 29 male gonad-enriched miRNAs have the …


Investigations Into The Negative Impact Of Temperature Stress On Fertility In Wild Strains Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Nicholas B. Sepulveda Oct 2022

Investigations Into The Negative Impact Of Temperature Stress On Fertility In Wild Strains Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Nicholas B. Sepulveda

Dissertations (1934 -)

Sexual reproduction and its coincident genetic recombination are powerful adaptive strategies. However, sexual reproduction has disadvantages. One ancient and conserved disadvantage is temperature sensitivity. In organisms diverse as plants, insects, nematode worms, and humans, as temperatures increase, fertility decreases. The goal of this dissertation is to examine the negative impact of elevated temperature stress on fertility in sexually reproducing organisms using wild strains of Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans presents a unique opportunity to study these effects broadly in two contexts, as worms may be either self-fertile hermaphrodites that produce both egg and sperm or males which produce only sperm. In …


Embryology Of The Gekkota: Insights Into The Evolution An Development Of Morphological Diversity, Aaron Harp Griffing Jul 2022

Embryology Of The Gekkota: Insights Into The Evolution An Development Of Morphological Diversity, Aaron Harp Griffing

Dissertations (1934 -)

Understanding the patterns and processes which result in morphological diversity is a central goal of evolutionary developmental biology or evo-devo. This diversity encompasses morphologies which have evolved numerous, independent times within a clade (evolutionary convergence) and others which have evolved only once within a clade (i.e. evolutionary novelty). Though many of these diverse morphologies exhibit functional capabilities and are intertwined with the ecology and diversification of the evolutionary lineage in question, their origins are largely unknown. Robust phylogenic analysis, genomic information, and detailed developmental data are critical lines of evidence to explain the evolutionary and ontogenetic origins of morphological novelty …


Evolution Of Sex Chromosomes In Geckos (Reptilia: Gekkota), Shannon Elizabeth Keating Jul 2022

Evolution Of Sex Chromosomes In Geckos (Reptilia: Gekkota), Shannon Elizabeth Keating

Dissertations (1934 -)

Sex chromosomes control sex determination in many plants and animals, playing a vital role in a species’ evolution. Current models of sex chromosome evolution have been formulated by studying clades with stable, morphologically distinct (heteromorphic) sex chromosomes, such as mammals and birds. However, many taxa have morphologically indistinguishable (homomorphic) sex chromosomes, including many fish, amphibians, and reptiles. The knowledge gained from these understudied systems may provide new insights into the overarching paradigms of sex chromosome evolution. Thus, the historical focus on stable, heteromorphic sex chromosomes and failure to consider homomorphic sex chromosomes or systems with frequent turnovers may mean the …


Pituitary Adenylate Cylase-Activating Polypeptide Receptor: Multiple Signaling Pathways Involved In Energy Homeostasis, Brian Maunze Apr 2022

Pituitary Adenylate Cylase-Activating Polypeptide Receptor: Multiple Signaling Pathways Involved In Energy Homeostasis, Brian Maunze

Dissertations (1934 -)

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) exerts pleiotropic effects on ventromedial nuclei (VMN) of the hypothalamus and its control of feeding and energy expenditure through the Type I PAC1 receptor (PAC1R). However, the endogenous role of PAC1R’s in the VMN and the downstream signaling responsible for PACAP’s effects are unknown.To determine the endogenous role of PAC1Rs and signaling that may explain PACAP’s pleiotropic effects, we knocked down VMN PAC1Rs and pharmacologically inhibited PKA, PKC and PAC1R trafficking. Knocking down PAC1Rs increased meal sizes, reduced total number of meals, and induced body weight gain. Inhibition of either PKA or PKC alone …


Motor Performance And Motor Unit Behavior In Response To Ischemic Conditioning Post Stroke, Saad Alqahtani Oct 2021

Motor Performance And Motor Unit Behavior In Response To Ischemic Conditioning Post Stroke, Saad Alqahtani

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this dissertation was to quantify changes in motor performance and motor unit behavior in response to ischemic conditioning (IC) post stroke. People with stroke often have long term functional deficits following therapeutic interventions characterized by underlying muscle weakness and fatigability. IC is an emerging therapy which involves transient bouts of ischemia to a limb with some evidence that IC may help improve motor function post stroke. Although the mechanisms of IC are likely multifactorial, the premise for this dissertation is that IC increases sympathetic drive and the excitability of the nervous system resulting in enhanced activation of …


Comparison Of Cpu And Parabricks Gpu Enabled Bioinformatics Software For High Throughput Clinical Genomic Applications, Stefano Rosati Oct 2020

Comparison Of Cpu And Parabricks Gpu Enabled Bioinformatics Software For High Throughput Clinical Genomic Applications, Stefano Rosati

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In recent years, high performance computing (HPC) has begun to revolutionize the architecture of software and servers to meet the ever-increasing demand for speed & efficiency. One of the ways this change is manifesting is the adoption of graphics processor units (GPUs). Used correctly, GPUS can increase throughput and decrease compute time for certain computational problems. Bioinformatics, an HPC dependent discipline, is no exception. As bioinformatics continues advance clinical care by sequencing patient’s DNA and RNA for diagnosis of diseases, there is an ever-increasing demand for faster data processing to improve clinical sequencing turnaround time. Parabricks, a GPU enabled bioinformatics …


The Role Of System Xc- In Cognition: The Importance Of Neuron-Astrocyte Signaling, Evan Michael Hess Oct 2020

The Role Of System Xc- In Cognition: The Importance Of Neuron-Astrocyte Signaling, Evan Michael Hess

Dissertations (1934 -)

The biological basis of human intelligence is largely a mystery, but likely required evolutionary adaptations to achieve the information processing capacity needed to expand the complexity of cognition among species. The link between evolutionary expansion of signaling complexity in the brain and cognition has largely focused on neuronal mechanisms, in part because information processing has historically been attributed to these cells. However, astrocytes are emerging as a second type of brain cell that is capable of processing information due to their capacity to release glutamate and, thereby, regulate neural circuits. Hence, a modern question is whether astrocytes contributed to the …


Chronic Variable Stress Induces Avolition And Disrupts Corticoaccumbens Encoding Of Approach Cues, Mitchell Spring Oct 2020

Chronic Variable Stress Induces Avolition And Disrupts Corticoaccumbens Encoding Of Approach Cues, Mitchell Spring

Dissertations (1934 -)

Disorders in the ability to process, evaluate, and interact with rewards are hallmarks of a range of mental illnesses. Such disorders are multi-faceted and arise from altered activity throughout diffuse brain regions. Chronic variable stress (CVS) is an oft-used tool for modeling reward-related disorders in preclinical research because it impairs the function of multiple brain regions and causes a range of severe hedonic and motivational deficits. While much research has focused on the former, the latter is poorly characterized. A panel of behavioral tests was used to characterize the effect of CVS exposure on different facets of reward related behaviors …


Survival-Related Clustering Of Cancer Patients By Integrating Clinical And Biological Datasets, Xinming Wei Jul 2020

Survival-Related Clustering Of Cancer Patients By Integrating Clinical And Biological Datasets, Xinming Wei

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Subtype-based treatments and drug therapies are essential aspects to be considered in cancer patients' clinical trials to provide appropriate personalized therapies. With the advancement of the next-generation sequencing technology, several computational models, integrating genomic and transcriptomic datasets (i.e., multi-omics) in the prediction of subtype-based classification in cancer patients, were emerged. However, integration of the prognostic features from the clinical data, related to survival risks with the multi-omics datasets in the prediction of different subtypes, is limited and an important research area to be explored. In this study, we proposed a data integration pipeline with the prognostic features from the clinical …


Investigating The Role Of Lin-35 And The Dream Complex In Preserving Fertility Under Stress In C. Elegans, Frances Virginia Compere Jul 2020

Investigating The Role Of Lin-35 And The Dream Complex In Preserving Fertility Under Stress In C. Elegans, Frances Virginia Compere

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Organisms are subjected to environments that can fluctuate and cause them stress. Therefore, organisms must have the ability to adapt to the stress to survive and propagate. Temperature stress is becoming an increasingly relevant type of stress due to climate change and is known to affect fertility in many types of organisms including the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we examine the role of LIN-35, the single C. elegans homolog of the tumor suppressor Retinoblastoma (pRB), in fertility under moderate temperature stress. We found that lin-35 mutants lose fertility more drastically under moderate temperature stress than wildtype worms, and that …


Mechanisms Of Atp-Dependent Substrate Reduction In The Nitrogenase-Like Dpor Complex, Elliot Irwin Corless Jul 2020

Mechanisms Of Atp-Dependent Substrate Reduction In The Nitrogenase-Like Dpor Complex, Elliot Irwin Corless

Dissertations (1934 -)

Iron-Sulfur ([Fe-S]) clusters are the most common transient electron carriers in cells and are necessary for basic metabolism of all life. Bacterial systems use two operons (isc and suf ) for the biogenesis and delivery of [Fe-S] clusters to various proteins. Once delivered, they serve as transient electron carriers necessary for both heterotrophic and autotrophic metabolism and reduction/oxidation chemistry. This work utilizes the hetero-octameric Dark operative Protochlorophyllide Oxido-Reductase (DPOR) complex as a platform to investigate [Fe-S] cluster biogenesis and the concerted action of its multiple [Fe-S] clusters and protein subunits. DPOR catalyzes the penultimate step in bacterial chlorophyll synthesis and …


Characterization Of The Mir-44 Family Of Micrornas In The C. Elegans Germline, Katherine Ann Maniates Jul 2020

Characterization Of The Mir-44 Family Of Micrornas In The C. Elegans Germline, Katherine Ann Maniates

Dissertations (1934 -)

While numerous individual miRNAs have been detected in the germline, the functions of most other specific miRNAs remain largely unknown. Functions of miRNAs have been difficult to determine as miRNAs often modestly repress target mRNAs and are suggested to sculpt or fine tune gene expression to allow for the robust expression of cell fates. Analysis of newly generated mir-44 family mutants has identified a group of miRNAs that modulate the pathway of germline sex determination in C. elegans. Mutants produce fewer sperm and display an earlier switch to producing oocytes. In the germline, cell fate decisions are made for germline …


Anthropogenic Drivers And Ecological Concepts Of Antimicrobial Resistance, Rachelle E. Beattie Jul 2020

Anthropogenic Drivers And Ecological Concepts Of Antimicrobial Resistance, Rachelle E. Beattie

Dissertations (1934 -)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a ubiquitous global health issue driven by the overuse and misuse of antimicrobial compounds in healthcare and veterinary medicine. Both natural and built environments have been recognized as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistant bacteria, genes, and pathogens but the factors that drive increases in their abundance are not well understood, especially in natural environments. The primary goal of this work is to characterize the ecological drivers of antimicrobial resistance in freshwater ecosystems impacted by intensive livestock farms, known contributors of environmental resistance. Kewaunee County, Wisconsin served as an ideal study site for the investigation of the impact …


Characterizing The Mechanisms Of Ectopic Expression Of Dream Complex Target Genes And The Hta Phenotype In C. Elegans, Jerrin Roy Cherian Jul 2020

Characterizing The Mechanisms Of Ectopic Expression Of Dream Complex Target Genes And The Hta Phenotype In C. Elegans, Jerrin Roy Cherian

Dissertations (1934 -)

It is important for organisms to establish and maintain proper gene expression for normal growth and development. In C. elegans, the DREAM repressor complex helps maintain proper gene expression in somatic cells by repressing germline genes. DREAM complex mutants show close to normal gene expression at 20°C; however, at 26°C, DREAM complex mutants display increased misexpression of germline genes ectopically in the soma and display a distinct High Temperature larval Arrest (HTA) phenotype. It is unclear what gene regulatory mechanisms lead to misexpression of germline genes in somatic cells of DREAM complex mutants. My dissertation research investigated three aspects of …


Rna-Seq Analysis Of Wildtype Caenorhabditis Elegans Germlines Under Different Temperature Conditions, Chong Li Apr 2020

Rna-Seq Analysis Of Wildtype Caenorhabditis Elegans Germlines Under Different Temperature Conditions, Chong Li

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Quantitative analysis is very important for researchers to understand the molecular physiology underlying differential gene expression. High-throughput mRNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has become a standard method, which can be used in a wide variety of species and biological conditions to discover new genes and transcripts or measure levels transcript expression. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an important model for the study of germ cell biology. For this thesis, RNA-Seq was performed on dissected germlines of Caenorhabditis elegans that were grown at either 20°C (ideal conditions) or 27°C (stress conditions) from two wildtype strains: JU1171 (thermotolerant) and LKC34 (thermosensitive). The goals of …


Establishing The Roles Of The Dna Binding Domains Of Replication Protein A (Rpa), Nilisha Pokhrel Apr 2020

Establishing The Roles Of The Dna Binding Domains Of Replication Protein A (Rpa), Nilisha Pokhrel

Dissertations (1934 -)

During DNA metabolic processes such as replication and repair, double-stranded DNA is transiently unwound to expose single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Such ssDNA intermediates are immediately coated by Replication Protein A (RPA), an essential single-stranded DNA binding protein present in all eukaryotes. RPA binding to ssDNA fulfills four goals: 1. The ssDNA is protected from degradation by endo- and exo-nucleases. 2. A cell-cycle checkpoint signaling cascade is triggered to indicate the presence of ssDNA. 3. RPA recruits other DNA metabolic enzymes on to the ssDNA. 4. Finally, RPA promotes the catalytic activity of the recruited enzyme. The overall objective of my thesis …


Characterization Of De Novo Protein Aggregate Formation In S. Cerevisiae, Douglas Lyke Apr 2020

Characterization Of De Novo Protein Aggregate Formation In S. Cerevisiae, Douglas Lyke

Dissertations (1934 -)

Misfolded proteins are commonly refolded to a functional conformation or degraded by quality control mechanisms. When misfolded proteins evade quality control, they often form aggregates that are sequestered to specific sites in the cell. The proper sequestration of aggregates is thought to prevent potential dysfunction, toxicity and disease that is often associated with the presence of aggregates. However, the cellular mechanisms that underlie the management of newly formed protein aggregates are unclear. To understand the cellular response to protein aggregate formation, I used the aggregation prone prion domain of the Sup35 protein (Sup35NM) in yeast. Previous work observing GFP-tagged Sup35NM …