Life Sciences Commons^™

The Prdm Gene Apoptix Antagonizes Programmed Cell Death In Tribolium, Zahabiya Husain

Wayne State University Theses

Previous studies in holometabolous insects have shown that programmed and cell proliferation play important roles in insect metamorphosis. To elucidate the function of the newly identified Tribolium Prdm gene Apoptix (Apox) I performed a detailed analysis of Apox knockdown effects in the embryo, the pupa and the adult eye. My results revealed that Apox is required for the survival of retinal tissue after onset of differentiation and also generally in tissues which experience high amounts of proliferation and differentiation during pupal development. Further, combinatorial knockdown of Apox and initiator caspases produced evidence that Apox specifically protects from programmed cell death …

Investigation Of A 16s Rna Central Domain Pseudoknot, Jenna Marie Jasinski-Bolak

Wayne State University Theses

X-ray crystallography of the prokaryotic 30S ribosomal subunit revealed a myriad of complex RNA-RNA, RNA-protein, and protein-protein interactions. Among these are several phylogenetically conserved RNA pseudoknots. Pseudoknots are structurally and functionally diverse RNA secondary structures. They are generally formed by two short complimentary sequences separated by many bases of single stranded regions or loops. These relatively simple folds are often yield complex structures that are key components of functionally important conformational changes in RNA structure. One such pseudoknot is located in the central domain of the 16S rRNA.

The central domain pseudoknot is formed by Watson-Crick base pairing between G570-C866 …