Life Sciences Commons^™

Genetic Modification Of Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.) For Improvement Of Plant Architecture, Biomass Productivity And Sugar Release Efficiency For Biofuel, Wegi Aberra Wuddineh

Doctoral Dissertations

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a leading candidate bioenergy crop for sustainable biofuel production. To ensure its economic viability, tremendous improvements in switchgrass biomass productivity and recalcitrance to enzymatic saccharification are needed. Genetic manipulation of lignin biosynthesis by targeting transcriptional regulators of higher level domains of lignin biosynthesis and other complex traits could alter several bioenergy-desirable traits at once. A three-pronged approach was made in the dissertation research to target one plant growth regulator and transcription factors to alter plant architecture and cell wall biosynthesis.

Gibberellin (GA) catabolic enzymes, GA 2-oxidases (GA2oxs), were utilized to alternatively modify the lignin …

The E26 Transformation-Specific Transcription Factors Pu.1, Spi-B, And Spi-C Regulate Transcriptional Activation And Repression Of Nfkb1 To Control B Cell Development And Function, Stephen Ka Ho Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C are highly related E26 transformation-specific family transcription factors that can bind nearly identical DNA sequences. PU.1 and Spi-B (encoded by Spi1 and Spib respectively) are important for B cell development and function, but the function of Spi-C (encoded by Spic) in B cells is not clear. The objective of this study was to determine PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C’s function during B cell development, and during TLR-mediated responses. It was hypothesized that PU.1 and Spi-B were required for positively regulating components of TLR responses, and Spi-C inhibited PU.1 and Spi-B targets. Spi1^+/-Spib^-/- ( …

Genome-Scale Analyses Of Transcription And Transcriptional Regulation In Bacteria, Devon Marie Fitzgerald

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The textbook model of bacterial transcription regulation posits that promoters occur immediately upstream of genes and that transcription factors (TFs) modulate transcription through promoter-proximal binding. However, the recent application of unbiased genome-wide approaches, such as ChIP-seq and RNA-seq, has revealed a much more complex picture, including TF binding and transcription initiation occurring in unexpected locations. This dissertation describes the use of deep sequencing-based approaches to evaluate the genome-wide binding of transcription-related proteins and identify locations of transcription initiation. I have assessed the genome-wide binding of three Escherichia coli TFs and an alternative σ factor. Additionally, I have analyzed genome-wide patterns …