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Factors That Contribute To De Novo Protein Misfolding And Prion Formation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Kathryn Morgan Keefer

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protein misfolding is a common phenomenon that can have severe consequences on cellular and organismal health. Despite this, the causes of protein misfolding remain poorly understood. Prions are a class of proteins that, when misfolded, can convert other molecules into a heritable, non-native conformation. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae naturally harbors several diverse prion-forming proteins; thus, it is an ideal model with which to investigate the factors that influence misfolding and aggregation.This thesis utilizes the yeast prions [PSI+] and [RNQ+] to investigate two distinct steps of the protein misfolding pathway: interactions with chaperones and their cofactors, and heterologous templating by other …