Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-08, Section: B, page: 4096. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-08, Section: B, page: 4097. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 39-03, Section: B, page: 1358. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1978.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 34-07, Section: B, page: 3411. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1973.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 34-07, Section: B, page: 3412. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1973.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 33-10, Section: B, page: 4948. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1972.

In the sea urchin there is a tandemly repeated U2 snRNA gene set that is expressed early in embryogenesis and inactivated after blastula stage. In addition, there is a constitutive gene set which is expressed in all cells. A tandemly repeated and a single copy U2 snRNA gene were isolated from the sea urchin L. variegatus. Upon microinjection into sea urchin zygotes, the genes showed temporal expression characteristic of an embryonic and a constitutive gene, respectively. Four cis-acting elements were identified within the promoter of each gene: the TATA box at $-$30, the PSE element at $-$60, an element at $-$100 and an upstream activating sequence. Other than the TATA box there is no sequence homology between the elements from the two genes. The TATA and the PSE element are necessary and sufficient for basal transcription and for selection of the transcription initiation site. Swapping of the embryonic gene PSE element into the constitutive gene promoter converts temporal expression of the constitutive gene into that of the embryonic gene, suggesting that the PSE sequence is responsible for developmental regulation. A protein complex binds to the PSE and TATA elements of the embryonic gene in vitro. In vitro binding correlates with activity of the promoter in vivo. The binding activity is present in blastula nuclei and absent from gastrula nuclei. An 82 kD protein was UV crosslinked to the embryonic gene PSE sequence. The protein has been purified by DNA affinity chromatography. Cloning of its cDNA is a future goal. It is likely that the 82 kD factor is a key factor for developmental regulation of the sea urchin embryonic U2 snRNA genes. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-11, Section: B, page: 5678. / Major Professor: William F. Marzluff, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

DNA replication-dependent histone genes differ from other genes which are transcribed by RNA polymerase II in that histone genes do not contain introns and have no poly(A) tail at their 3$\sp\prime$ ends. The histone mRNAs end with a conserved stem-loop. This thesis examines the requirements involved in the process of transporting histone mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The 3$\sp\prime$ processing signal is required for exporting histone mRNA out of the nucleus. This sequence can be replaced with a polyadenylation signal but not with U1 snRNA 3$\sp\prime$ end. This sequence may also play an important role in promoting the association of histone mRNA with polyribosomes and assist in the initiation of translation of histone mRNA. A 50KD stem-loop binding protein (SLBP) has been identified by RNA mobility shift and UV-crosslinking assays. Different complexes are formed in the nucleus and the cytoplasm with the nuclear complex being larger. The nuclear and cytoplasmic SLBP are the same proteins demonstrated by partial proteolysis. The interaction between the stem-loop RNA and SLBP is extremely sequence dependent. However none of the mutants of stem-loop has a significant effect on transport of the mRNA. Instead the mutations severely reduce the SLBP binding activity and expression of histone mRNA. These suggest that the interaction between the SLBP and stem-loop is critical for histone mRNA processing. An additional nuclear factor has also been identified which is involved in nuclear SLBP-RNA complex and is probably located on the nuclear membrane, suggesting that this factor along with SLBP may function in the process of exporting histone mRNA to the cytoplasm. The dissociation of SLBP from histone mRNA may be the initial step for degradation to take place. The SLBP is recycled after histone mRNA is degraded and return to the nucleus. A model of the functions of SLBP in the metabolism and regulation of histone mRNA is proposed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: B, page: 1209. / Major Professor: William F. Marzluff. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The expression of two mouse U1b-2 genes has been studied both in vivo, using DNA transfection experiments, and in vitro using isolated nuclei active in snRNA synthesis. The 5' flanking sequences of the two mouse U1b-2 genes were determined and regions conserved among mammalian U1 genes identified. The 5' flanking sequences of the U1b genes are very similar to a previously reported rat U1a gene suggesting a close evolutionary relationship between the two genes. A promoter element, located between positions -201 and -228, was identified by stable transformation of mouse L cells and CHO cells, which normally express U1b, with cloned U1b-2 genes containing different lengths of 5' flanking sequence. Additional flanking sequences are required for efficient expression of U1b-2 genes in mouse C127 fibroblasts, which normally do not express U1b RNAs. In addition, the changes in the expression of U1b-2 and U1a RNAs was measured in early mouse embryogenesis. / The efficient synthesis U1, U2, and U3 snRNAs was demonstrated in isolated mouse myeloma nuclei. Accurate initiation of U1 RNA was shown to occur in this system by using (beta)-thionucleotides in the transcription reaction. There was no transcription upstream of the U1b gene but two classes of transcripts with 3' extensions were observed. Transcripts with 3-5 base 3' extensions were released from nuclei and trimmed to the mature size in vitro. In contrast, the transcripts with 200-300 base extensions were retained in nuclei and not processed to the mature size, suggesting that 3' end formation is normally coincident with transcription. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03, Section: B, page: 0659. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

Atomic structure determination of membrane proteins is an important problem. Because of the difficulties in crystallization and traditional NMR techniques using membrane proteins, other experimental methods are being developed and investigated. One such method, the solid-state NMR PISEMA (Polar Inversion Spin-Exchange at the Magic Angle) experiment, determines orientational contraints for the target membrane protein. These constraints can be used to build a high resolution atomic model. This dissertation presents a detailed analysis of the PISEMA experimental data set and how it can be used to derive atomic structure. One of the aspects of the data set is that it is degenerate, that is, the orientational information measured by the data does not uniquely describe atomic locations. Thus, there are many possible structures that would provide the same data. An important goal of this work is to enumerate and characterize these degeneracies throughout each phase of model building and provide computational tools to manage them. The process of building atomic models from PISEMA data involves three major steps: assignment, initial model building and atomic refinement. For each step we present new software that is intended to aid in the model building process.The tools are designed to be used consecutively with limited, though significant, human intervention. The last section of the dissertation presents an application of our tools to a new PISEMA data set, from which we derive the first high-resolution atomic structure of the transmembrane portion of the M2 proton channel from the Influenza A virus in the presence of amantadine.For this case, we explain both the data processing and decision making that determined the final atomic model. It is likely that this semi-automated procedure will be applicable to other transmembrane protein PISEMA data sets. / A Dissertation submitted to the Institute of Molecular BioPhysics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2006. / Date of Defense: May 1, 2006. / Solid-State NMR, Structural Biology, Membrane Proteins, Influenza A / Includes bibliographical references. / Richard Bertram, Professor Directing Dissertation; Piyush Kumar, Outside Committee Member; Micheal S. Chapman, Committee Member; Timothy A. Cross, Committee Member; Jack R. Quine, Committee Member.