Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-192). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on May 27, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 290-308).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-181).

Em Escherichia coli, a assimilação de sulfato e sua redução a sulfeto é mediada por um transportador do tipo ABC codificado pelos genes sbpcysWUA e várias enzimas codificadas por cysNCDGHIJ. Embora a importância deste sistema tenha sido largamente demonstrada em outros organismos, não existem relatos na literatura sobre a via na bactéria fitopatogênica Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (X. citri). Neste trabalho, utilizando uma abordagem funcional baseada em análises de bioinformática, proteômica e gene repórter, mostramos que a via de sulfato está presente e ativa em X. citri. Ainda, a partir da expressão e produção em larga escala da proteína ligadora de sulfato Sbp, realizamos ensaios de biofísica que evidenciaram a interação da proteína com sulfato e o aumento da estabilidade térmica e estrutural, obtendo-se cristais. O trabalho apresenta as primeiras evidências da funcionalidade desta via em X. citri durante o crescimento in vitro e infecção in vivo e abre pespectivas de estudos para compreensão do papel deste íon na fisiologia do microrganismo. / In Escherichia coli, the capture and reduction of sulfate to sulfide is mediated by an ABC-type transporter encoded by genes sbpcysWUA and several enzymes encoded by cysNCDGHIJ. Although the importance of this system has been widely demonstrated in other organisms, there are no reports in the literature related to the way that sulfate is assimilated and reduced in plant pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (X. citri). In this work, using a functional approach based on bioinformatics analysis, proteomics and gene reporter, we show that the way is present and active in X. citri. Indeed, the sulfate binding protein was expressed and produced in large scale for biophysical assays demonstrating the interaction of the protein with sulfate and increased thermal stability and crystals was produced. The study presents the first evidence of the functionality of this pathway in X. citri during growth in vitro and in vivo infection and opens perspectives studies to understand the role of this ion in the physiology of the microorganism.

Algal blooms caused by toxigenic cyanobacterial species are an increasing economic burden globally, as high anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen and phosphorous, coupled with rising levels of atmospheric CO2, promote eutrophication and enhance bloom proliferation. Of the freshwater bloom forming species, Microcystis aeruginosa has garnered the most attention due to the production of toxic secondary metabolites known as microcystins. These cyclic peptides are potent eukaryotic protein phosphatase 1 and 2A inhibitors, and can induce hepatic damage if concentration levels reach above the World Health Organization level of 1 µg/L. Current mitigation strategies of water column disruption or by use of broad acting chemicals, are limited in their range and may cause unwanted off target effects to the surrounding biota. Antisense oligonucleotides are short single-stranded DNA polymers that hybridize with transcribed mRNA, and suppress translation of protein products through steric hindrance of ribosomes, or by RNAse H degradation of the DNA/RNA bound complex. While antisense oligonucleotide applications have proven successful in the pharmaceutical industry, their potential remains largely unexplored in environmental contexts. For this reason, we investigated the knockdown of microcystin synthetase gene cluster mcyE in M. aeruginosa. We found that ionic charge neutralization coupled with heat shock were effective chemical competence based methods for delivery, mcyE transcript abundance in cells treated with phosphodiester linked antisense oligonucleotides significantly decreased in RT-qPCR analysis, and production of intracellular microcystin significantly decreased over a 24 hour period (-1.9 fg/cell). This work demonstrates a novel proof of concept for the potential use of exogenous antisense oligonucleotides to target M. aeruginosa in harmful algal bloom occurrences.

(Chemical Equation Presented) Torn genes: DNA tetramers containing the 2-deoxyribonolactone (dL) lesion have been isolated by HPLC from d(CGCG) and d(pCGCG) films irradiated with X-rays. Upon treatment with spermine as a catalyst, the dL-containing tetramers decompose to 5-methylene-2-furanone (5-MF; see scheme), a characteristic product of dL decomposition. Hence, 5-MP can be used to quantify dL lesions in DNA.

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