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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Role Of Pitx Proteins In Early Xenopus Development, Ye Jin
The Role Of Pitx Proteins In Early Xenopus Development, Ye Jin
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Embryos of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis are widely used for the study of early vertebrate development. The cement gland, which secrets mucus to help tadpoles attach to solid supports and live in relative safety, has long been used as a model to study the interplay between cell signaling pathways and transcription factors. It has been proposed that an intermediate level of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling is essential for cement gland formation. In addition, several transcription factors have been linked to cement gland development. Among them, the homeodomain proteins Pitx1 and the closely related Pitx2c can generate ectopic …
The Role Of T-Box Proteins In Vertebrate Germ Layer Formation And Patterning, Sushma Teegala
The Role Of T-Box Proteins In Vertebrate Germ Layer Formation And Patterning, Sushma Teegala
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
All of the tissues in triploblastic organisms, with the exception of the germ cells, arise from the three germ layers, ectoderm, mesoderm and the endoderm. The identification of the genes that underlie the differentiation of these layers is crucial to our understanding of development. T-box family proteins are DNA-binding transcriptional regulators that play important roles during germ layer formation in the early vertebrate embryo. Well-characterized members of this family, including the transcriptional activators Brachyury and VegT, are essential for the proper formation of mesoderm and endoderm, respectively. To date, T-box proteins have not been shown to play a role in …
Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of The Drosophila Anterior Determinant, Bicoid, John Mclaughlin
Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of The Drosophila Anterior Determinant, Bicoid, John Mclaughlin
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
In a wide variety of biological contexts, messenger RNA (mRNA) is known to have a complex and dynamic life cycle. In particular, the localization and translational control of mRNA are essential for proper development in eukaryotes. The fly Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent model for studying these processes. During D. melanogaster oogenesis, several mRNAs are trafficked and localized within the developing egg chamber, and regulated at the translational level to enable embryo patterning. One such mRNA, bicoid, is localized at the anterior of the oocyte and translated in the early embryo, where its encoded protein directs formation of the fly's …
Transcriptional And Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of Histone Variant H2a.Z During Sea Urchin Development, Mihai Hajdu
Transcriptional And Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of Histone Variant H2a.Z During Sea Urchin Development, Mihai Hajdu
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Histone variant H2A.Z promotes chromatin accessibility at transcriptional regulatory elements and is developmentally regulated in metazoans. We characterize the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of H2A.Z in the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. H2A.Z depletion by antisense translation-blocking morpholino oligonucleotides during early development causes developmental collapse, in agreement with its previously demonstrated general role in transcriptional multipotency. During H2A.Z peak expression in 24-h embryos, endogenous H2A.Z 3’ UTR sequences stabilize GFP mRNAs relative to those with SV40 3’ UTR sequences, although the 3’UTR of H2A.Z does not determine the spatial distribution of H2A.Z transcripts during embryonic and postembryonic development. We …