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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology

The Role Of H3k4 Methyltransferases In Drosophila Memory, Nicholas Raun Jan 2019

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 …


Cytosolic Acetyl-Coa Promotes Histone H3 Lysine 27 Acetylation In Arabidopsis, Chen Chen Feb 2017

Cytosolic Acetyl-Coa Promotes Histone H3 Lysine 27 Acetylation In Arabidopsis, Chen Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) serves as a central metabolite in energy metabolism and biosynthesis. High level of acetyl-CoA can fuel the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle to generate energy and store excess energy in fatty acids. Meanwhile, it also provides acetyl groups for protein acetylation, which normally occurs at the lysine or arginine residues. Acetylation regulates protein functions largely due to the change of total charges. Acetylation of histones, for example, can lead to loss of the interaction between histone and DNA, thus relaxing chromatin structure and potentially promoting gene expression. However, whether and how acetyl-CoA regulates plant chromatin remains unexplored. Here, …


The Role Of Thymine Dna Glycosylase (Tdg) And Dna Demethylation In Tgf Beta Signaling, Matthew E.R. Maitland Dec 2015

The Role Of Thymine Dna Glycosylase (Tdg) And Dna Demethylation In Tgf Beta Signaling, Matthew E.R. Maitland

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Prompted by findings that TGFβ stimulates thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) dependent rapid DNA demethylation and activation of the CDKN2B gene, I investigated the global role of TDG and DNA demethylation in TGFβ signaling in HaCaT cells. Using dot blot analysis, I show that TGFβ treatment increases the global levels of 5-formylcytosine, an intermediate metabolite of active DNA demethylation. Characterization of genomic regions that undergo DNA demethylation and recruitment of TDG indicate that they are both frequent events, but only overlap at 11 genomic locations. I identified 440 TGFβ upregulated genes, 40 of which were bound by TDG and 169 that …


Molecular Mechanisms Underlying The Early Life Programming Of The Liver, Gurjeev Sohi Jul 2013

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying The Early Life Programming Of The Liver, Gurjeev Sohi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Clinical studies have demonstrated that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) offspring, faced with a nutritional mismatch postpartum, have an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. The maternal protein restriction (MPR) rat model has been extensively studied to investigate the adverse effects of a nutritional mismatch in postnatal life of IUGR offspring. Previous studies have demonstrated that MPR leads to impaired function of the liver, an important metabolic organ. However the underlying mechanisms which predispose these offspring to the metabolic syndrome remain elusive. In the following studies, low protein diet during pregnancy and lactation led to IUGR offspring with decreased liver …


Cellular Adaptation Of Macrophages To Anthrax Lethal Toxin-Induced Pyroptosis Via Epigenetic Mechanisms, Chae Young Han Apr 2013

Cellular Adaptation Of Macrophages To Anthrax Lethal Toxin-Induced Pyroptosis Via Epigenetic Mechanisms, Chae Young Han

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cellular adaptation to microbial stresses has been demonstrated in several cell types. Macrophages (MФ) are sentinel immune cells fending off invading microbes. Anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx) is a key virulence factor released by Bacillus anthracis that causes rapid cell death, pyroptosis. A small number of RAW246.7 macrophages (~4%) exposed to a non-lethal dose of LeTx become resistant to LeTx-induced pyroptosis for ~ 4 weeks, termed “toxin-induced resistance (TIR)”. Here, I showed that high levels of DNA methyl transferase1 (DNMT1) expression were maintained although global genomic methylation levels were not high in TIR. TIR cells treated with the DNMT inhibitor 5-azacitidine …