Molecular Biology Commons^™

Dna Methylation And The Response To Infection In Introduced House Sparrows, Melanie Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Epigenetics is the study of molecular modification of a genome without changing its base pairs. The most studied type of epigenetic mechanism is DNA methylation, which is capable of turning a gene “on” or “off.” Epigenetic potential is the capacity to which an individual can have methylation on its genome. The more CpGs available, the greater the epigenetic potential. In invasive species, genetic variation has been observed to be paradoxical: not much of it exists on a genomic level, but epigenetically, phenotypic variation can occur. The focus on shift in gene expression in this study is on Toll-Like Receptor 4 …

Initial And Advanced Stages Of Microbiota Establishment Within The Tsetse Fly, Miguel Eduardo Medina Munoz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Symbiosis is a long-term physical association between two or more species, although little is known regarding its evolutionary origins, particularly at the genetic level. Tsetse flies are the vector of African trypanosomes, causative agents of Human and Animal African Trypanosomiases. Tsetse provide an ideal model for studying initial and advanced stages of symbiosis. Tsetse have a simple digestive tract microbiota primarily consisting of two bacteria; the ancient mutualist Wigglesworthia glossinidia and the recently acquired Sodalis glossinidius. This work presents a chronological study in evolutionary terms of the history of a microbial-insect association. First, I present concepts on symbiosis and …

The Role Of H3k4 Methyltransferases In Drosophila Memory, Nicholas Raun

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Gene transcription required for long-term memory requires the modification of histones. However, there are still many uncertainties about the identity and spatial expression of genes regulated by histone modifications during memory related processes. In this project I examined the role of Drosophila melanogaster methyltransferases Set1 and trx in courtship memory. Genetic knockdown of Set1 and trx in the mushroom body (MB) revealed that Set1 was necessary for short- and long-term memory, while trx was only required for long-term memory. Transcriptional profiling of MBs following trx-knockdown revealed expression changes in MB-enriched genes and genes involved in RNA processing. Among the …

Investigation Of Alcohol-Induced Changes In Hepatic Histone Modifications Using Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics, Crystina Leah Kriss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol liver disease (ALD) is a major health concern throughout the world. Currently, in the United States, 17 million people suffer from alcoholism, of which 1.4 million people are receiving treatment [1, 2]. The link between ethanol metabolism, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and liver injury in ALD has been well characterized over the last couple decades [3-10]. Ethanol metabolism relies on the availability of the cofactor NAD+ for the oxidation of ethanol into acetate, consequently causing alterations in redox potential. Redox dysfunction within the mitochondria can affect multiple pathways important in maintaining cellular homeostasis. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to …

Transcriptomic And Epigenetic Responses To Environmental Stress In Marine Bivalves With A Focus On Harmful Algal Blooms, Maria Victoria Suarez Ulloa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global change poses new threats for life in the oceans forcing marine organisms to respond through molecular acclimatory and adaptive strategies. Although bivalve molluscs are particularly tolerant and resilient to environmental stress, they must now face the challenge of more frequent and severe Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) episodes. These massive outbreaks of microalgae produce toxins that accumulate in the tissues of these filter-feeder organisms, causing changes in their gene expression profiles, which in turn modify their phenotype in order to maintain homeostasis. Such modifications in gene expression are modulated by epigenetic mechanisms elicited by specific environmental stimuli, laying the foundations …

An Analysis Of The Interaction Between Sin3 And Methionine Metabolism In Drosophila, Mengying Liu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Chromatin modification and cellular metabolism are tightly connected. The mechanism for this cross-talk, however, remains incompletely understood. SIN3 controls histone acetylation through association with the histone deacetylase RPD3. In this study, my major goal is to explore the mechanism of how SIN3 regulates cellular metabolism.

Methionine metabolism generates the major methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) for histone methylation. In collaboration with others, I report that reduced levels of some enzymes involved in methionine metabolism and histone demethylases lead to lethality, as well as wing development and cell proliferation defects in Drosophila melanogaster. Additionally, disruption of methionine metabolism can directly affect histone …

Mechanism Of Transcriptional Suppression Of A Phytochrome A Epiallele In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Gulab D. Rangani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cytosine methylation in DNA is an integral part of epigenetically controlled regulatory networks in eukaryotes. Both plants and vertebrates display DNA methylation in the gene coding region; however, its role in gene expression is not well understood. Gene promoter, on the other hand, remains largely unmethylated. Acquisition of methylation in promoter results in transcriptional suppression of the gene. The goal of this research is to study the effect of coding region methylation in gene expression using a unique gene model, phyA'. phyA' is a transcriptionally suppressed epiallele of the Arabidopsis thaliana Phytochrome A gene, which contains methylation in CG sites …

Examination Of Promotor Hypermethylation Patterns In Magnetically Enriched Exfoliated Breast Milk Epithelial Cells, Chung M. Wong

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Suppression of genes involved in DNA repair, tumor suppression and detoxification through epigenetic modifications has been implicated in the etiology of cancer. As such analysis of promoter methylation patterns in genes frequently down regulated in breast cancer in non-cancerous subjects may serve as an indicator of breast cancer risk. CpG-island hypermethylation of single genes has been detected in cells isolated from nipple aspirate and ductal lavage, yet both isolation methods yield insufficient cells to complete an extensive analysis on any one donor sample.

As an alternative we have turned to magnetic separation of human mammary epithelial cells from breast milk. …