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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
241

Transcriptional Regulation By A Biotin Starvation- And Methanol-Inducible Zinc Finger Protein In The Methylotrophic Yeast, Pichia Pastoris

Nallani, Vijay Kumar 11 1900 (has links) (PDF)
Pichia pastoris, a methylotrophic yeast is widely used for recombinant protein production. It has a well characterized methanol utilization (MUT) pathway, the enzymes of which are induced when cells are cultured in the presence of methanol. In this study, we have identified an unannotated zinc finger protein, which was subsequently named ROP (repressor of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, PEPCK) and characterized its function. ROP expression is induced in P. pastoris cells cultured in biotin depleted glucose ammonium medium as well as a medium containing methanol as the sole source of carbon. In glucose-abundant, biotin depleted cultures, ROP induces the expression of a number of genes including that encoding PEPCK. Interestingly, a strain in which the gene encoding ROP is deleted (ΔROP) exhibits biotin-independent growth. Based on a number of studies, it was proposed that the ability of ΔROP to grow in the absence of biotin is due to the activation of a pyruvate carboxylase-independent pathway of oxaloacetate biosynthesis. It was also proposed that PEPCK, which normally functions as a gluconeogenic enzyme, may act as an anaplerotic enzyme involved in the synthesis of oxaloacetate. ROP was shown to be a key regulator of methanol metabolism when P. pastoris cells are cultured in YPM medium containing yeast extract, peptone and methanol but not YNBM medium containing yeast nitrogen base and methanol. In P. pastoris cells cultured in YPM, ROP functions as a transcriptional repressor of genes encoding key enzymes of the methanol metabolism such as the alcohol oxidase I. (AOXI). Deletion of the gene encoding ROP results in enhanced expression of AOXI and growth promotion while overexpression of ROP results in repression of AOXI and retardation of growth of P. pastoris cultured in YPM medium. Subcellular localization studies indicate that ROP translocates from cytosol to nucleus in cells cultured in YPM but not YNBM. To understand the mechanism of action of ROP, we examined its DNA-binding specificity. The DNA-binding domain of ROP shares 57% amino acid identity with that of Mxr1p, a master regulator of genes of methanol metabolism. We demonstrate that the DNA-binding specificity of ROP is similar to that of Mxr1p and both proteins compete with each other for binding to AOXI promoter sequences. Thus, transcriptional interference due to competition between Mxr1p and ROP for binding to the same promoter sequences is likely to be the mechanism by which ROP represses AOXI expression in vivo. Mxr1p and ROP are examples of transcription factors which exhibit the same DNA-binding specificity but regulate gene expression in an antagonistic fashion.
242

Optimization of the Small Scale Expression of the Mutant Hen Egg White Lysozyme, H15S

Amoyaw, Charles Duah 12 May 2020 (has links)
No description available.
243

Structural and functional characterisation of the collagen binding domain of fibronectin

Millard, Christopher John January 2007 (has links)
Fibronectin is an extracellular multidomain glycoprotein that directs and regulates a variety of cell processes such as proliferation, development, haemostasis, embryogenesis, and wound healing. As a major component of blood, fibronectin exists as a soluble disulphide linked dimer, but it can also be incorporated into an insoluble cross-linked fibrillar network to form a major component of the extracellular matrix. Fibronectin is composed of an extended chain of module repeats termed Fn1, Fn2, and Fn3 that bind to a wide range of transmembrane receptors and extracellular matrix components, including collagen. The gelatin binding domain of fibronectin was first isolated as a 45kDa proteolytic fragment and has since been found to be composed of six modules: 6Fn1-1Fn2-2Fn2-7Fn1-8Fn1-9Fn1 (in this notation nFX represents the nth type X module in the native protein). This domain has been reported to bind to both collagen and denatured collagen (gelatin), but with 10-100 times higher affinity to the latter; it can be purified to homogeneity on a gelatin affinity column. In the work presented here, fragments of the gelatin binding domain are expressed in P. pastoris, purified to homogeneity, and investigated at the molecular level. Through a dissection approach, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is used to characterise the recombinantly produced protein, to accumulate more information about the function of the full domain. NMR is used to assess the folding of the protein fragments at atomic resolution. In particular, the secondary structure of 8Fn1-9Fn1 is mapped using inter-strand NOEs, which suggests that the construct takes the fold of a pair of typical Fn1 modules. Gelatin affinity chromatography is used to confirm that both Fn1 and Fn2 modules contribute to gelatin binding, possibly in two clusters (1Fn2-2Fn2 and 8Fn1-9Fn1). The 7Fn1 module may perform a structural role in linking together these two interaction sites, in the same way as suggested for 6Fn1, which is thought to act in a structural manner to enhance the binding of 1Fn2-2Fn2 to gelatin. Three carbohydrate moieties are found on this domain, one on 2Fn2 and two on 8Fn1. Here, by means of expressing different protein length fragments, and by site directed mutagenesis, the role of each sugar chain is investigated independently. The sugar chain on 2Fn2 does not appear to promote binding to collagen, nor does the first sugar chain on 8Fn1 (N-linked to N497), implying another role for these sugars such as protection from proteolysis. However, the presence of at least a single GlcNAc sugar residue on the second sugar chain site on 8Fn1 (N- linked to N511) is essential for full affinity binding to collagen. Direct binding of the 8Fn1-9Fn1 module pair to collagen is assessed with a short collagen peptide and the binding is monitored by NMR. The peptide appears to bind, predominantly to the final strand of 8Fn1, the first β- strand of 9Fn1, and the linker between the two modules, with μM affinity. A model for bound peptide is proposed. The highly conserved amino acid motif Ile-Gly-Asp (IGD) is found on four of the nine N-terminal Fn1 modules of fibronectin. Tetrapeptides containing the IGD were demonstrated to promote the migration of fibroblast cells into a native collagen matrix. Two of these “bioactive” IGD motifs are found within the gelatin binding domain, one on 7Fn1 and one on 9Fn1. In this study, the motif in the 8Fn1-9Fn1 module pair is shown to be located in a tightly constrained loop within 9Fn1. By site directed mutagenesis, the IGD motifs of 7Fn1 and 9Fn1 are subjected to single amino acid substitutions, and their ability to stimulate cell migration assessed in our assay. By NMR, the fold of the IGD mutant proteins is found to be unaffected by the mutation with respect to the wild type, with the exception of small perturbations around the substitution site. While the wild type module is able to stimulate fibroblast migration, the mutant proteins show reduced or negligible bioactivity. The larger fragments show far more potency in stimulating fibroblast migration, with 8Fn1-9Fn1 (one IGD motif) 104 times more potent than the IGD peptide, and the full gelatin binding domain (two IGD motifs) 106 times more potent than the 8Fn1-9Fn1. Potential mechanisms for this enormous enhancement of the IGD potency in different contexts are discussed.
244

In vitro and in vivo approaches in the characterization of XTH gene products

Kaewthai, Nomchit January 2011 (has links)
ABSTRACT The xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase/hydrolase (XTH) genes are found in all vascular and some nonvascular plants. The XTH genes encode proteins which comprise a subfamily of glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 16 in the Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes (CAZY) classification. The XTH gene products are believed to play intrinsic role in cell wall modification during growth and development throughout the lifetime of the plant. In the present investigation, biochemical and reverse genetic approaches were used to better understand the functions of individual members of the XTH gene family of two important plants: the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and the grain crop barley (Hordeum vulgare). A phylogenetic tree of the xyloglucan-active enzymes of GH16 has previously been constructed, where enzymes with similar activities have been shown to cluster together. Several members of phylogenetic Group I/II and III-B, predicted to exhibit xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase activity (EC 2.4.1.207) and members of Group III-A, predicted to exhibit xyloglucan endo-hydrolase activity (EC 3.2.1.151), were included to analyze the functional diversity of XTH gene products. A heterologous expression system using the yeast Pichia pastoris was found to be effective for recombinant protein production with a success rate of ca. 50%. XTH gene products were obtained in soluble and active forms for subsequent biochemical characterization. In order to be able to screen larger numbers of protein producing clones, a fast and easy method is required to identify clones expressing active protein in high enough amounts. Thus, a miniaturized XET/XEH assay for high-throughput analysis was developed, which was able to identify activities with good precision and with a reduced time and materials consumption and a reduced work load. Enzyme kinetic analysis indicated that the XET or XEH activity of all XTH gene products characterized in the present study corresponded to predictions based on the previously revised phylogenetic clustering. To gain insight into the biological function of the predominant XEHs AtXTH31 and AtXTH32, which are highly expressed in rapidly developing tissues, a reverse genetic approach was employed using T-DNA insertion lines of the A. thaliana Columbia ecotype. Genotypic and phenotypic characterization, together with in situ assays of XET and XEH activities, in single- and double-knock-out mutants indicated that these Group III-A enzymes are active in expanding tissues of the A. thaliana roots and hypocotyl.  Although suppression of in muro XEH activity was clearly observed in the double-knock-out, no significant growth phenotype was observed, with the exception that radicle emergence appeared to be faster than in the wild type plants. Keywords: Arabidopis thaliana, Hordeum vulgare, plant cell wall, xyloglucan, glycoside hydrolase family 16, xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase/hydrolase gene family, xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase, xyloglucan endo-hydrolase, heterologous protein expression, Pichia pastoris, T-DNA insertion, in situ XET/XEH assay, high-throughput screening / QC 20110114
245

Structural Investigation of Processing α-Glucosidase I from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Barker, Megan 20 August 2012 (has links)
N-glycosylation is the most common eukaryotic post-translational modification, impacting on protein stability, folding, and protein-protein interactions. More broadly, N-glycans play biological roles in reaction kinetics modulation, intracellular protein trafficking, and cell-cell communications. The machinery responsible for the initial stages of N-glycan assembly and processing is found on the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Following N-glycan transfer to a nascent glycoprotein, the enzyme Processing α-Glucosidase I (GluI) catalyzes the selective removal of the terminal glucose residue. GluI is a highly substrate-specific enzyme, requiring a minimum glucotriose for catalysis; this glycan is uniquely found in biology in this pathway. The structural basis of the high substrate selectivity and the details of the mechanism of hydrolysis of this reaction have not been characterized. Understanding the structural foundation of this unique relationship forms the major aim of this work. To approach this goal, the S. cerevisiae homolog soluble protein, Cwht1p, was investigated. Cwht1p was expressed and purified in the methyltrophic yeast P. pastoris, improving protein yield to be sufficient for crystallization screens. From Cwht1p crystals, the structure was solved using mercury SAD phasing at a resolution of 2 Å, and two catalytic residues were proposed based upon structural similarity with characterized enzymes. Subsequently, computational methods using a glucotriose ligand were applied to predict the mode of substrate binding. From these results, a proposed model of substrate binding has been formulated, which may be conserved in eukaryotic GluI homologs.
246

Structural Investigation of Processing α-Glucosidase I from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Barker, Megan 20 August 2012 (has links)
N-glycosylation is the most common eukaryotic post-translational modification, impacting on protein stability, folding, and protein-protein interactions. More broadly, N-glycans play biological roles in reaction kinetics modulation, intracellular protein trafficking, and cell-cell communications. The machinery responsible for the initial stages of N-glycan assembly and processing is found on the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Following N-glycan transfer to a nascent glycoprotein, the enzyme Processing α-Glucosidase I (GluI) catalyzes the selective removal of the terminal glucose residue. GluI is a highly substrate-specific enzyme, requiring a minimum glucotriose for catalysis; this glycan is uniquely found in biology in this pathway. The structural basis of the high substrate selectivity and the details of the mechanism of hydrolysis of this reaction have not been characterized. Understanding the structural foundation of this unique relationship forms the major aim of this work. To approach this goal, the S. cerevisiae homolog soluble protein, Cwht1p, was investigated. Cwht1p was expressed and purified in the methyltrophic yeast P. pastoris, improving protein yield to be sufficient for crystallization screens. From Cwht1p crystals, the structure was solved using mercury SAD phasing at a resolution of 2 Å, and two catalytic residues were proposed based upon structural similarity with characterized enzymes. Subsequently, computational methods using a glucotriose ligand were applied to predict the mode of substrate binding. From these results, a proposed model of substrate binding has been formulated, which may be conserved in eukaryotic GluI homologs.

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