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The C-Terminal Linker Of Ftsz Acts As An Intrinsically Disordered Peptide During Cell Division In Bacillus Subtilis, Steven Grigsby

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

The bacterial tubulin homologue FtsZ polymerizes in vitro in a GTP-dependent manner to form long, single stranded filaments. In cells, these filaments assemble at the nascent division site, interacting laterally to form the contractile Z ring. The Z ring serves as a scaffold for the rest of the division machinery and constricts at the leading edge of the invaginating septum during cytokinesis. The FtsZ polypeptide consists of three primary domains: the N-terminal globular core consisting of 315 residues that contains the GTP binding site, a variable and flexible C-terminal linker (CTL) consisting of 50 residues, and a conserved region at …

Investigating The Role Of Wolbachia Endosymbionts In The Expansion Of The F Element In Drosophila Ananassae, Elizabeth J. Chen

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

At 4.2 Mb overall, the Drosophila melanogaster Muller F element (dot chromosome) is an unusual autosome; it is broadly heterochromatic, but the distal 1.3 Mb has a gene density and expression pattern similar to other autosomes. More intriguing is the large expansion of the D. ananassae F element (~20 Mb). Elucidating the factors that contribute to this expansion could improve our understanding of how heterochromatic domains are maintained and amplified.

Previous analyses show that the lateral gene transfer (LGT) of Wolbachia (the most widespread intracellular bacteria in the Rickettsiales order) into the D. ananassae genome is an important contributor to …

Pharmacology Of Organic Cation Transporters: Focus On Structure-Function Relationships In Oct3 (Slc22a3), Dan C. Li

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

Organic Cation Transporters (OCTs) are polyspecific, facilitative transporters that play major roles in metabolite and drug clearance. OCTs are promising drug targets and elucidating their mechanisms of substrate recognition is crucial for rational drug design. OCT-mediated transport of polyvalent cations remains unexplored. OCT-expressing Xenopus laevis oocytes were used to assess transport of polyamines, ubiquitous polyvalent cations of broad physiological import, but for which transport mechanisms are unknown. Dose-response analysis of radiolabelled substrate uptake revealed that polyamines are relatively low affinity, but high turnover substrates for OCTs compared to model substrate methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺). Polyamine analogs of varying hydrophobic character …

Delicious-Ology: The Science Of Delicious Food, Sasha Yan

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

You can read this book two ways. If you want to “just cook,” flip to the recipe index, pick a recipe, and skip straight to that page. The surrounding text will explain some aspects of the science behind the recipe. While the recipes in this book are chosen to complement and provide examples of the science, they’re also recipes that are fantastic in and of themselves.