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Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
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Determining The Role Of Epigenetic Factors In Antifungal Drug Resistance, Abigail R. Gress, Scott D. Briggs, Nina Serratore
Determining The Role Of Epigenetic Factors In Antifungal Drug Resistance, Abigail R. Gress, Scott D. Briggs, Nina Serratore
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Epigenetic factors are proteins that regulate gene expression by altering transcriptional machinery access to nucleosomes, DNA wrapped around histone proteins. Two classes of epigenetic factors are ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers and histone modifiers such as histone methyltransferases (HMTs), proteins that add methyl groups to histone tails. This study focuses on AIF4 (Antifungal-Induced Factor 4), a possible HMT induced upon neutral lipid depletion that we hypothesize is regulating antifungal drug resistance genes. Overexpression of AIF4 results in hypersensitivity to antifungal drugs. Studying epigenetic factors in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, including AIF4, can lead to better understanding of cell adaptation to their environments …