Toward The Discovery Of Biological Functions Associated With The Mechanosensor Mtl1p Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Via Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis,
2021
University of Puerto Rico
Toward The Discovery Of Biological Functions Associated With The Mechanosensor Mtl1p Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Via Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis, Nelson Martínez-Matías, Nataliya Chorna, Sahily González-Crespo, Lilliam Villanueva, Ingrid Montes-Rodríguez, Loyda M. Melendez-Aponte, Abiel Roche-Lima, Kelvin Carrasquillo-Carrión, Ednalise Santiago-Cartagena, Brian C. Rymond, Mohan Babu, Igor Stagljar, José R. Rodríguez-Medina
Biology Faculty Publications
Functional analysis of the Mtl1 protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has revealed that this transmembrane sensor endows yeast cells with resistance to oxidative stress through a signaling mechanism called the cell wall integrity pathway (CWI). We observed upregulation of multiple heat shock proteins (HSPs), proteins associated with the formation of stress granules, and the phosphatase subunit of trehalose 6-phosphate synthase which suggests that mtl1Δ strains undergo intrinsic activation of a non-lethal heat stress response. Furthermore, quantitative global proteomic analysis conducted on TMT-labeled proteins combined with metabolome analysis revealed that mtl1Δ strains exhibit decreased levels of metabolites of carboxylic acid metabolism, decreased …
Biophysical Characterization Of The Par-4 Tumor Suppressor: Evidence Of Structure Outside The Coiled Coil Domain And Interactions With Platinum Chemotherapeutics,
2021
Old Dominion University
Biophysical Characterization Of The Par-4 Tumor Suppressor: Evidence Of Structure Outside The Coiled Coil Domain And Interactions With Platinum Chemotherapeutics, Andrea Megan Clark
Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations
Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) is an apoptosis-inducing tumor suppressor protein. Full-length Par-4 has previously been shown to be a predominantly intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) under neutral conditions, with significant regular secondary structure evident only within the C-terminal coiled coil domain. However, IDPs can gain ordered structure through the process of induced folding, which often occurs under non-neutral conditions. Previous work has shown that the Par-4 leucine zipper, which is a subset of the C-terminal coiled coil domain, is disordered under neutral conditions, but forms a dimeric coiled coil at acidic pH. Increase in ionic strength was also shown to increase …
Lions, Tigers, And Hemes - Oh My! A Dynamic Look At The Electronic Effects Of Porphyrin Substitution On Cytochrome P450 Olet,
2021
University of South Carolina - Columbia
Lions, Tigers, And Hemes - Oh My! A Dynamic Look At The Electronic Effects Of Porphyrin Substitution On Cytochrome P450 Olet, Alexis J. Holwerda
Senior Theses
OleT, a member of the CYP152 family of cytochrome P450s (CYPs), decarboxylates fatty acids using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant. The resultant products are a terminal alkene and carbon dioxide. This C–C cleavage reaction is highly atypical for CYPs, which prototypically oxygenate substrates, and provides a potential means to enzymatically produce drop-in fuels. OleT contains a heme-iron cofactor that facilitates decarboxylation through the activation of hydrogen peroxide. The catalytic cycle, as determined by transient kinetics, includes two ferryl intermediates known as Compound I (Ole-I) and Compound II (Ole-II). Ole-I performs substrate hydrogen abstraction and subsequent single electron transfer to Ole-II …
Construction Of E. Coli Strain With N-Terminal Domain Deletion In The Biotin Carboxyl Carrier Protein,
2021
Louisiana State University
Construction Of E. Coli Strain With N-Terminal Domain Deletion In The Biotin Carboxyl Carrier Protein, Dara Khosravi
Honors Capstones
No abstract provided.
A Spatially Explicit Model Of Stabilizing Selection For Improving Phylogenetic Inference,
2021
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
A Spatially Explicit Model Of Stabilizing Selection For Improving Phylogenetic Inference, Jeremy M. Beaulieu, Brian C. O'Meara, Michael A. Gilchrist
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
Ultraconserved elements (UCEs) are stretches of hundreds of nucleotides with highly conserved cores flanked by variable regions. Although the selective forces responsible for the preservation of UCEs are unknown, they are nonetheless believed to contain phylogenetically meaningful information from deep to shallow divergence events. Phylogenetic applications of UCEs assume the same degree of rate heterogeneity applies across the entire locus, including variable flanking regions. We present a Wright-Fisher model of selection on nucleotides (SeION) which includes the effects of mutation, drift, and spatially varying, stabilizing selection for an optimal nucleotide sequence. The SeION model assumes the strength of stabilizing selection …
Evaluating The Role Of The Stringent Response Mechanism In Clostridioides Difficile Survival And Pathogenesis,
2021
Old Dominion University
Evaluating The Role Of The Stringent Response Mechanism In Clostridioides Difficile Survival And Pathogenesis, Astha Pokhrel
Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations
The human pathogen Clostridioides difficile is increasingly tolerant of multiple antibiotics and causes infections with a high rate of recurrence, creating an urgent need for new preventive and therapeutic strategies. The stringent response, a universal bacterial response to extracellular stresses, governs antibiotic survival and pathogenesis in diverse organisms but has not previously been characterized in C. difficile. This dissertation explores the ability of C. difficile to mount the stringent response. The bacteria encode a full-length, canonical bifunctional Rel/Spo Homolog or RSH enzyme. C. difficile RSH is incapable of utilizing GTP as a substrate but readily synthesizes putative 5’-pGpp-3’ alarmones. …
Purification And Functional Characterization Of The Iron-Responsive Transcription Factor Aft1 From C. Glabrata,
2021
University of South Carolina - Columbia
Purification And Functional Characterization Of The Iron-Responsive Transcription Factor Aft1 From C. Glabrata, Jade Ikahihifo-Bender
Senior Theses
Due to its unique ability to serve as both an electron donor and acceptor, iron is utilized as a co-factor for many biological processes, including electron transfer, oxygen binding, and vitamin synthesis. Iron is also a key factor during fungal infections as the human host and invading pathogens battle over limited iron pools. The primary iron-responsive transcription factor Aft1 in the opportunistic pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata responds to iron deficiency by activating expression of iron acquisition genes. However, the mechanisms for sensing intracellular iron levels and regulating Aft1 activity in response to iron are unknown. The C. glabrata iron regulation …
Morph- And Sex-Specific Differences In Corticosterone Of The Arizona Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Mavortium Nebulosum),
2021
Murray State University
Morph- And Sex-Specific Differences In Corticosterone Of The Arizona Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Mavortium Nebulosum), Megan Zerger
Scholars Week
Life history morph, sex, and body condition are traits that may influence stress within salamander populations because of differences in physiology and environmental conditions. Given widespread declines and the effects chronic stress can have on amphibian health, it is important to understand within-population drivers of stress and how population level variation may influence population viability. Thus, the objective of our study was to assess how corticosterone varies within the Arizona tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) population at the Mexican Cut Nature Preserve. We used a non-invasive skin swabbing method to collect baseline and elevated corticosterone from paedomorph (aquatic …
Biological Activity And Solubility Of 5-Methoxy-1,4-Benzoquinone Having Bromoheptyl And Bromodecyl Substituents In The N-Octanol/Water System,
2021
Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Biological Activity And Solubility Of 5-Methoxy-1,4-Benzoquinone Having Bromoheptyl And Bromodecyl Substituents In The N-Octanol/Water System, Siti Mariyah Ulfa, Fath Dwisari, Laras Pangesti, Mohammad Farid Rahman
Makara Journal of Science
The biological activity and solubility of compounds are influenced by its chemical structure. These properties can be improved by substituting alkyl, alkoxy, and/or haloalkane in the parent skeleton. In this research, the synthesis of 3-(7-bromoheptyl)-2-methyl-5-methoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (3a) and 3-(10-bromodecyl)-2-methyl-5-methoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (3b) was achieved through the decarboxylation reaction. The solubility and biological activity of 3a and 3b were compared with that of thymoquinone (TQ), which acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. Compounds 3a and 3b were successfully synthesized and analyzed using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). The FTIR spectrum showed the increasing intensity of …
Case 32: Inhibition Of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Enzymes As A Possible Treatment For Diabetes,
2021
Providence College
Case 32: Inhibition Of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Enzymes As A Possible Treatment For Diabetes, Dr. Kathleen Cornely
Chemistry & Biochemistry Case Studies
Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are investigated because of their ability to reverse the effects of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs). Inhibitors of the PTP investigated in this study have insulin-mimetic effects and have potential in the treatment of diabetes.
Analysis Of Heavy Metal In Hair Samples Using Icp Oes,
2021
Andrews University
Analysis Of Heavy Metal In Hair Samples Using Icp Oes, Emma Suvacarov
Honors Scholars & Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium Programs
Exposure to heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic can negatively affect the structure and function of cells, tissues, and organs. Such heavy metals can be excreted from the hair as metabolic products during its growth process thus hair analysis is thought to be a reliable indicator for the environmental accumulation of heavy metals. Our research aims to develop a methodology to quantify heavy metal concentrations found in biological samples using Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy. Current research involves preparing hair samples for analysis and creating calibration curves for heavy metals through a process that is accurate, precise, and easily …
Lighting The Way: Recent Insights Into The Structure And Regulation Of Phototropin Blue Light Receptors,
2021
CUNY Advanced Science Research Center
Lighting The Way: Recent Insights Into The Structure And Regulation Of Phototropin Blue Light Receptors, Jaynee E. Hart, Kevin H. Gardner
Publications and Research
The phototropins (phots) are light-activated kinases that are critical for plant physiology and the many diverse optogenetic tools that they have inspired. Phototropins combine two bluelight- sensing Light–Oxygen–Voltage (LOV) domains (LOV1 and LOV2) and a C-terminal serine/threonine kinase domain, using the LOV domains to control the catalytic activity of the kinase. While much is known about the structure and photochemistry of the light-perceiving LOV domains, particularly in how activation of the LOV2 domain triggers the unfolding of alpha helices that communicate the light signal to the kinase domain, many questions about phot structure and mechanism remain. Recent studies have made …
Insights Into Viral Genome Function Through Comparative Structural Analysis,
2021
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Insights Into Viral Genome Function Through Comparative Structural Analysis, Lydia Phillips
UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair
Enteroviruses are single stranded RNA viruses which have caused many public health concerns, particularly in children. These viruses are responsible for polio, hand, foot, and mouth disease, many polio-like neurological diseases, and the common cold. The enterovirus called Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), a close relative to poliovirus, has been shown responsible for severe human disease, including pancreatitis, myocarditis, and type 1 diabetes. A unique advantage of studying CVB3 is the existence of a naturally occurring strain (CVB3/GA) which displays no known pathogenicity. Earlier comparative genomic studies have shown that the primary difference between avirulent CVB3/GA and the virulent strains of CVB3 …
Telsam-Target Protein Fusions Can Form Diffraction-Quality Crystals Without Direct Inter-Polymer Contacts,
2021
Brigham Young University
Telsam-Target Protein Fusions Can Form Diffraction-Quality Crystals Without Direct Inter-Polymer Contacts, Moriah Longhurst
Undergraduate Honors Theses
X-ray diffraction is a robust method for determining the detailed 3D structures of specific proteins. However, this requires the formation of well-ordered protein crystals, a process that is time-consuming, expensive, and only has about a 10-30% success rate. New methods are needed to enable the efficient crystallization of challenging proteins. One such technique is explored here, which utilizes a protein polymer (the sterile alpha motif domain of the human protein translocation Ets leukemia, or TELSAM) as a crystallization chaperone to form a more ordered crystal lattice of target proteins and drive crystallization. This method was successfully used to crystallize, collect …
Highlighting Membrane Protein Structure And Function:
A Celebration Of The Protein Data Bank,
2021
University of California, San Francisco
Highlighting Membrane Protein Structure And Function: A Celebration Of The Protein Data Bank, Fei Li, Pascal F. Egea, Alex J. Vecchio, Ignacio Asial, Meghna Gupta, Joana Paulino, Ruchika Bajaj, Miles Sasha Dickinson, Shelagh Fergunson-Miller, Brian C. Monk, Robert M. Stroud
Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications
Biological membranes define the boundaries of cells and compartmentalize the chemical and physical processes required for life. Many biological processes are carried out by proteins embedded in or associated with such membranes. Determination of membrane protein (MP) structures at atomic or near-atomic resolution plays a vital role in elucidating their structural and functional impact in biology. This endeavor has determined 1198 unique MP structures as of early 2021. The value of these structures is expanded greatly by deposition of their three-dimensional (3D) coordinates into the Protein Data Bank (PDB) after the first atomic MP structure was elucidated in 1985. Since …
Investigations Of The Structure And Protein-Protein Interactions Of Chlamydia Trachomatis Scc4,
2021
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Investigations Of The Structure And Protein-Protein Interactions Of Chlamydia Trachomatis Scc4, Thilini Oshadhi Senarath Ukwaththage
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most common, sexually transmitted bacterial disease (STD) in the world. In the developmental cycle of CT, specific chlamydia chaperone 4 (Scc4) is a unique protein with essential and multiple roles. Hence, Scc4 is significant as a virulence target for therapeutic approaches to treat chlamydial infections. A novel approach was discovered to purify tag free Scc4 by utilizing a 6X-histidine-tag on Scc1 in the co-expressed Scc4:Scc1 complex by capturing the complex on nickel-charged immobilized metal affinity chromatography resin, followed by dissociation of Scc4 with sarkosyl. Using triple resonance NMR experiments, backbone and sidechain resonances …
Indolizine Donor-Based Dyes For Applications In Fluorescence Biological Imaging,
2021
University of Mississippi
Indolizine Donor-Based Dyes For Applications In Fluorescence Biological Imaging, William Meador
Honors Theses
NIR emissive fluorophores are intensely researched due to their potential to replace modern imaging procedures. Many molecular strategies have been employed in the literature to optimize fluorophores for deeper NIR absorption and emission, biocompatibility, and higher fluorescence quantum yields. Amongst the fluorophores studied to date, proaromatic indolizine donors are attractive alternatives to traditional alkyl amine and indoline based donors due to their 1) lower energy absorption and emission facilitated by proaromaticity, 2) large Stokes shifts due to increased dihedral angles about the π-system, 3) ease of functionalization and capacity for bioconjugation at the phenyl ring, and 4) potential for further …
A Co-Opted Steroid Synthesis Gene, Maintained In Sorghum But Not Maize, Is Associated With A Divergence In Leaf Wax Chemistry,
2021
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
A Co-Opted Steroid Synthesis Gene, Maintained In Sorghum But Not Maize, Is Associated With A Divergence In Leaf Wax Chemistry, Lucas Busta, Elizabeth Schmitz, Dylan K. Kosma, James Schnable, Edgar B. Cahoon
Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications
Virtually all land plants are coated in a cuticle, a waxy polyester that prevents nonstomatal water loss and is important for heat and drought tolerance. Here, we describe a likely genetic basis for a divergence in cuticular wax chemistry between Sorghum bicolor, a drought tolerant crop widely cultivated in hot climates, and its close relative Zea mays (maize). Combining chemical analyses, heterologous expression, and comparative genomics, we reveal that: 1) sorghum and maize leaf waxes are similar at the juvenile stage but, after the juvenile-to-adult transition, sorghum leaf waxes are rich in triterpenoids that are absent from maize; 2) …
Engineering Src Homology 2 Domains With Improved Specificity For Sulfotyrosine,
2021
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Engineering Src Homology 2 Domains With Improved Specificity For Sulfotyrosine, Anya Morozov
Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)
Protein tyrosine O-sulfation (PTS) is a common post-translational modification that has been implicated in a variety of biological processes and human illnesses. Despite continued progress in the field of sulfoproteomics, the extent and function of sulfated tyrosine (sulfotyrosine) residues is a topic of ongoing research. Previous work in the Guo Lab has identified Src Homology-2 (SH2) mutants that have a high affinity for sulfotyrosine along with retained high affinity for their natural ligand, phosphorylated tyrosine (phosphotyrosine). In this thesis, I attempted to generate SH2 mutants that have high affinity and specificity for sulfotyrosine over phosphotyrosine. While I successfully generated …
Using Crispr-Cas9 To Construct Knockout Mutants In Dna-Repair Genes In Arabidopsis Thaliana,
2021
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Using Crispr-Cas9 To Construct Knockout Mutants In Dna-Repair Genes In Arabidopsis Thaliana, David Campbell
Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)
The mitochondria are known as the powerhouse of the cell, and just like a real powerhouse, it can be a dangerous place to store sensitive information. Energy generation and redox reactions in the mitochondria can cause damage to the DNA stored there, resulting in a higher mutation rate. Compared to their animal counterparts, however, plant mitochondria exhibit a lower mutation rate and a higher recombination rate. It is hypothesized that the unique DNA repair methods present in plant mitochondria are responsible for the phenomena observed there. To study the mechanics of DNA-repair in this organelle, however, researchers must be able …
