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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology

The Role Of Conformational Changes In Viral And Bacterial Protein Functions, Md Lokman Hossen Jun 2022

The Role Of Conformational Changes In Viral And Bacterial Protein Functions, Md Lokman Hossen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proteins do versatile work in cells. They require a cascade of structural changes to perform different tasks like binding to the other neighboring biomolecules, transporting small chemicals, activating a chemical reaction, etc. The structural conformations of proteins can be critical in changing their working ability. In this dissertation, I investigated the role of conformational changes of viral protein, e.g., spike and envelope protein of SARS-CoV-2, and bacterial protein, e.g., multidrug transporter and toxic extrusion protein- PfMATE from Pyrococcus furiosus. Also, I performed molecular docking-based drug screening targeting the E protein to suggest a set of drugs that can be repurposed …


High And Low Toxin Producing Strains Of Karenia Brevis Differ Significantly In The Redox Proteome, Lipid Profiles, And Xanthophyll Cycle Pigments, Ricardo Colon Jun 2021

High And Low Toxin Producing Strains Of Karenia Brevis Differ Significantly In The Redox Proteome, Lipid Profiles, And Xanthophyll Cycle Pigments, Ricardo Colon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, blooms annually in the Gulf of Mexico, producing a suite of neurotoxins known as the brevetoxins. The cellular toxin content of K. brevis, however, is highly variable between or even within strains. I investigated biochemical differences between high (KbHT) and low (KbLT) toxin producing cultures both derived from the Wilson strain, related to energy-dependent quenching (qE) by photosystem II, and the content of reduced thiols of the proteome. By characterizing the xanthophyll content of the two strains I was able to determine that KbLT performs qE inconsistently. To investigate the …


Development Of A Dna Methylation Multiplex Assay For Body Fluid Identification And Age Determination, Quentin Gauthier Nov 2020

Development Of A Dna Methylation Multiplex Assay For Body Fluid Identification And Age Determination, Quentin Gauthier

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For forensic laboratories, the determination of body fluid origin of samples collected at a crime scene are typically presumptive and often destructive. However, given that in certain cases the presence of DNA is not in dispute and rather where the DNA came from is of primary concern, new methodologies are needed. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, affect gene expression in every cell of every mammal. These DNA methylation patterns typically are observed as the addition of a methyl group on the 5’ carbon of a cytosine followed by guanine (CpG). Methylation patterns have been observed to change in response …


Computational Analysis Of Large-Scale Trends And Dynamics In Eukaryotic Protein Family Evolution, Joseph Boehm Ahrens Mar 2019

Computational Analysis Of Large-Scale Trends And Dynamics In Eukaryotic Protein Family Evolution, Joseph Boehm Ahrens

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The myriad protein-coding genes found in present-day eukaryotes arose from a combination of speciation and gene duplication events, spanning more than one billion years of evolution. Notably, as these proteins evolved, the individual residues at each site in their amino acid sequences were replaced at markedly different rates. The relationship between protein structure, protein function, and site-specific rates of amino acid replacement is a topic of ongoing research. Additionally, there is much interest in the different evolutionary constraints imposed on sequences related by speciation (orthologs) versus sequences related by gene duplication (paralogs). A principal aim of this dissertation is to …


Conformational Dynamics And Stability Associated With Magnesium Or Calcium Binding To Dream In The Regulation Of Interactions Between Dream And Dna Or Presenilins, Khoa Ngoc Pham Jun 2016

Conformational Dynamics And Stability Associated With Magnesium Or Calcium Binding To Dream In The Regulation Of Interactions Between Dream And Dna Or Presenilins, Khoa Ngoc Pham

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator (DREAM) is involved in various interactions with targets both inside and outside of the nucleus. In the cytoplasm, DREAM interacts with the C-terminal fragments of presenilins to facilitate the production of β-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease. In the nucleus, Ca2+ free DREAM directly binds to specific downstream regulatory elements of prodynorphin/c-fos gene to repress the gene transcription in pain modulation. These interactions are regulated by Ca2+ and/or Mg2+ association at the EF-hands in DREAM. Therefore, understanding the conformational dynamics and stability associated with Ca2+ and/or Mg2+ binding to DREAM …


The Effect Of Sample And Sample Matrix On Dna Processing: Mechanisms For The Detection And Management Of Inhibition In Forensic Samples, Lilliana I. Moreno Mar 2015

The Effect Of Sample And Sample Matrix On Dna Processing: Mechanisms For The Detection And Management Of Inhibition In Forensic Samples, Lilliana I. Moreno

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The presence of inhibitory substances in biological forensic samples has, and continues to affect the quality of the data generated following DNA typing processes. Although the chemistries used during the procedures have been enhanced to mitigate the effects of these deleterious compounds, some challenges remain. Inhibitors can be components of the samples, the substrate where samples were deposited or chemical(s) associated to the DNA purification step. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the extraction processes and their ability to handle the various types of inhibitory substances can help define the best analytical processing for any given sample. A series of experiments …


Multimode Analysis Of Nanoscale Biomolecular Interactions, Purushottam Babu Tiwari Feb 2015

Multimode Analysis Of Nanoscale Biomolecular Interactions, Purushottam Babu Tiwari

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biomolecular interactions, including protein-protein, protein-DNA, and protein-ligand interactions, are of special importance in all biological systems. These interactions may occer during the loading of biomolecules to interfaces, the translocation of biomolecules through transmembrane protein pores, and the movement of biomolecules in a crowded intracellular environment. The molecular interaction of a protein with its binding partners is crucial in fundamental biological processes such as electron transfer, intracellular signal transmission and regulation, neuroprotective mechanisms, and regulation of DNA topology. In this dissertation, a customized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been optimized and new theoretical and label free experimental methods with related analytical …