Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Elucidating The Evolution And Function Of Srnas That Facilitate Bacterial Stress Tolerance, Madeline Claire Krieger
Elucidating The Evolution And Function Of Srnas That Facilitate Bacterial Stress Tolerance, Madeline Claire Krieger
Dissertations and Theses
Non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) are ubiquitous post-transcriptional regulators found in both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Despite their integral role in many regulatory pathways, including those that facilitate stress-tolerance, little is known about the evolutionary forces that drive the emergence of novel sRNAs, how prevalent sRNAs are within bacterial species, or the functions of a majority of these transcripts. In this work, I first describe the evolution of OxyS, a well-characterized sRNA in gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae that is involved in coordinating the bacterial response to oxidative stress. Next, I identify novel sRNAs differentially produced by the gram-positive oral pathogen Streptococcus mutans in …
Small Rna Mgrr Regulates Sensitivity Of Escherichia Fergusonii To Oxidative Stress, Austin Paul Wright
Small Rna Mgrr Regulates Sensitivity Of Escherichia Fergusonii To Oxidative Stress, Austin Paul Wright
Dissertations and Theses
Non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) are integral to post-transcriptional gene regulation in bacteria. The function of an sRNA is dependent on both secondary structure and the sequence of its unstructured seed region. The sRNA seed region typically base-pairs with target mRNAs to down-regulate the expression of target genes by blocking the ribosome-binding site or by promoting RNase-mediated degradation of the sRNA-mRNA complex. sRNAs have also been shown to increase expression of target genes by releasing RNA secondary structures that block ribosome-binding sites. Selective pressure to maintain sRNA function conserves the sequence of the sRNA seed region, but mutations in mRNA sequences …
Investigating The Role Of Small Noncoding Rnas In Vertebrate Anoxia Tolerance, Claire Louise Riggs
Investigating The Role Of Small Noncoding Rnas In Vertebrate Anoxia Tolerance, Claire Louise Riggs
Dissertations and Theses
Very few vertebrates survive extended periods of time without oxygen. Entry into metabolic depression is central to surviving anoxia, which is supported by overall suppression of protein synthesis, yet requires increased expression of specific proteins. Studying the rapid and complex regulation of gene expression associated with survival of anoxia may uncover new mechanisms of cellular biology and transform our understanding of cells, as well as inform prevention and treatment of heart attack and stroke in humans. Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) have emerged as regulators of gene expression that can be rapidly employed, can target individual genes or suites of genes, …
Investigating The Origin And Functions Of A Novel Small Rna In Escherichia Coli, Fenil Rashmin Kacharia
Investigating The Origin And Functions Of A Novel Small Rna In Escherichia Coli, Fenil Rashmin Kacharia
Dissertations and Theses
Non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) regulate various cellular processes in bacteria. They bind to a chaperone protein Hfq for stability and regulate gene expression by base-pairing with target mRNAs. Although the importance of sRNAs in bacteria has been well established, the mode of origination of novel sRNA genes is still elusive, mainly because the rapid rate of evolution of sRNAs obscures their original sources. To overcome this impediment, we identified a recently formed sRNA (EcsR2) in E. coli, and show that it evolved from a degraded bacteriophage gene. Our analyses also revealed that young sRNAs such as EcsR2 are expressed …