Frequent rearrangements, typically through homologous recombination in plant mitochondrial genomes often result in different upstream and downstream sequences for the same gene among a number of species. Transcription and RNA processing signals are therefore different, even among closely related plants. To evaluate the impact of DNA rearrangements on gene expression I conducted a comparative analysis of the S7 ribosomal protein gene (rps7) among a number of grasses: wheat, rice, maize, barley, rye, brome, Lolium and oats (grasses whose evolutionary divergence times range from about 5 to 60 Mya). Using circularized-RT-PCR to simultaneously map rps7 transcript termini I found that 3’ends for various RNA species are homogeneous, mapping to conserved sequences among plants. 5’ termini are more complex and can be both discrete and heterogeneous for different transcripts, both within and among plants. Genome rearrangements upstream of the rps7 start codon for some but not all species has led to plant-specific signals for both rps7 transcription and RNA processing. Termini for rps7 precursor species in wheat and Lolium are very discrete and likely use different upstream tRNAs as processing signals for end-cleavage. A number of potential stem-loop structures have also been identified at or near 5’ and 3’ termini which may function in maturation of transcript ends or provide transcript stability and protection from degradation by ribonucleases. C-to-U RNA editing of non-coding sequences, a rare event, was observed at multiple sites within the 5’ and 3’UTRs among plants. Some sites may even be developmentally regulated as CR-RT-PCR experiments were conducted using mitochondrial RNA isolated from seedlings and germinating embryos. Taken together, my observations demonstrate the frequency of upstream DNA rearrangements and the variety of signals used for expression of rps7 among grasses, providing new insights into the complexities of mRNA production in plant mitochondria.

Zooxanthellae are very important for the coral reef ecosystem. The diversity of coral hosts is high in the Indo-Pacific, but the diversity of zooxanthellae has not been broadly investigated. Southern Taiwan and Penghu Islands are coral reef and non-reefal communities, respectively. These localities were chosen as the sampling sites for this study to maximize the opportunity of surveying this region in the Indo-Pacific. Zooxanthellae diversity was investigated in 40 host species including 32 species of Scleractinia, 4 species of Actiniaria, 3 species of Milleporina and 1 species of Helioporacea using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the ssrRNA gene and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns. The phylogenetic relationship of partial and complete sequences of the ssrRNA gene were also analysed. Aiptasia puchella harbors clade B; Oulastrea crispata only harbors clade E; while Acropora palifera and Montipora cactus harbor both clades C and E. Zooxanthellae isolated from all except the above 4 host species are identified as "clade C" sensu Rowan and Powers (1991a). Therefore, the clade C is the dominant type in the Indo-Pacific. Phylogenetic analyses based on partial and complete sequences obtained in this study and also from the GenBank data base demonstrate 4 clades (A, B, C and E) in the genus Symbiodinium. Clade E, classed as D3 RFLP type in previous studies, is a distinct clade differing from A, B and C by RFLP and sequencing data. Clade E has only been found in Scleractinia host species collected in shallow-water habitats in the Pacific. The composition of zooxanthellae clades and ecological pattern of polymorphic symbiosis is not consistent with the irradiance adaptation hypothesis in the Caribbean. A literature survey of zooxanthellae in Scleractinian hosts indicates a significant difference between the Caribbean and the Pacific. The documented biogeography of zooxanthellae clades and the ecological pattern of polymorphic symbiosis are also differ between the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific.

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules form highly conserved secondary and tertiary structures via rRNA-rRNA and rRNA-protein interactions that collectively comprise the macromolecule that is the ribosome. Because of their cellular universality, rRNA molecules are commonly used for phylogeny estimations spanning all divergences of life. In this dissertation, I elucidate the structure of several rRNAs by analyzing multiply aligned sequences for basepair covariation and conserved higher order structural motifs. Specifically, I predict novel structures for expansion segments D2 and D3 of the nuclear large subunit rRNA (28S) and variable regions V4-V9 of the nuclear small subunit rRNA (18S) from from 249 galerucine leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). I describe a novel means for characterizing regions of alignment ambiguity that improves methods for retaining phylogenetic information without violating nucleotide positional homology. In the program PHASE, I explore a variety of RNA maximum likelihood models using the 28S rRNA dataset and discuss the utitilty of these models in light of their performance under Bayesian analysis. I conclude that seven-state models are likely the best models to use for phylogenetic estimation, although I cannot determine with confidence which of the two seven-state models (7A or 7D) is better. Evaluation of the unpaired sites within both rRNAs in Modeltest provided a similar model of evolution for these non-pairing regions (TrN+ I+G). In addition, a sequenced region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) from the galerucines was evaluated in Modeltest, with each codon position modeled separately (GTR+I+G for positions 1 and 2, GTR+G for position 3). The combined galerucine dataset (28S+18S rRNA helices, 28S+18S rRNA unpaired sites, COI 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions) provided for two mixedmodel Bayesian analysis of five discretely-modeled partitions (using 7A and 7D). The results of these analyses are compared with those obtained from equally weighted parsimony to provide a robust phylogenetic estimate of the Galerucinae and related leaf beetle taxa. Finally, the odd characteristics of strepsipteran 18S rRNA are evaluated through comparison of 12 strepsipterans with 163 structurally-aligned arthropod sequences. Among other interesting results, I identify errors in previously published strepsipteran sequences and predict structures not previously known from metazoan rRNA.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

The focus of this thesis is the role of ribosomal proteins in hematopoiesis and development. Ribosomal proteins are mutated in patients with Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA). These mutations primarily affect blood tissues, as DBA patients have a macrocytic anemia. We have identified hematopoietic defects in zebrafish with a mutation in ribosomal protein S29 (rps29). \(Rps29^{-/-}\) embryos have defects in hematopoietic stem cell formation, aorta specification, and hemoglobinization. Embryos also have increased numbers of apoptotic cells, and microarray analysis reveals up-regulation of a p53 gene signature. All of the hematopoietic phenotypes are rescued by p53 mutation, demonstrating that p53 activation induced by ribosomal protein knockdown is mediating the \(rps29^{-/-}\) mutant phenotype. In addition, polysome profiles of mutant embryos identify a decrease in 80s monosome and polysome fractions. Preliminary RNA sequencing analysis of the polysome fractions suggested a shift in genes being translated in the mutant. We performed a chemical screen on rps29 embryos. Using embryo morphology and vascular expression patterns as read-outs, 600 compounds of known bioactivity were screened. One compound, A-3, improves embryo morphology, and a structurally related compound, W-7, rescues the vasculature defect. These compounds are calmodulin inhibitors, and A-3 can also rescue the hemoglobin defect in \(rps29^{-/-}\) embryos. To elucidate the compounds’ mechanism of action, A549 and \(CD34^+\) cells with RPS19 knocked down by shRNA were treated with chemical hits. In these cells, calmodulin inhibitors cause a decrease of p21 even with p53 induction. These data support a model where calmodulin inhibition can inhibit the p53 pathway upon ribosomal protein knockdown. In parallel to our zebrafish studies, we generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from DBA patient fibroblasts as a part of a large-scale collaboration. Three iPS lines are validated, and a total of 27 lines will be generated from patients with mutations in RPS19, RPL5, and RPL11. Testing for defects in blood differentiation and determining the role of p53 in these lines will enable validation of this system as a model of DBA. The iPS lines can subsequently be used for chemical and genetic screening to identify novel DBA pathways and potential therapies.

There are two full length variants of the Pokey DNA transposon, PokeyA and PokeyB, and two MITEs, mPok1 and mPok2. Pokey inserts into ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and other genomic locations within the genomes of Daphnia species. I used qPCR to estimate haploid rDNA and Pokey copy number in five Daphnia pulex complex species. In general, rDNA number ranges from ~100 to 500. In four species, low numbers of PokeyA and PokeyB in rDNA and the rest of the genome suggest these elements have low transposition rates, high deletion rates, and/or strong purifying selection against them at the host level. Further, PokeyA may have a higher transposition rate than PokeyB. In these species, mPok1 was not found, and mPok2 is likely inactive. In comparison, the fifth species, D. arenata, which may be a hybrid, has higher Pokey numbers. Higher Pokey numbers could be due to release from epigenetic repression following hybridization. / Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology to Shannon H. C. Eagle, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant to Dr. Teresa J. Crease

Divers agents environnementaux peuvent causer des dommages à l’ADN qui, si non réparés, peuvent mener à des mutations et éventuellement le cancer. Des mécanismes de réparation sont donc nécessaires afin de maintenir l’intégrité du génome. Un de ces mécanismes est la réparation par excision de nucléotides (NER) qui va réparer des dommages qui causent une distorsion dans l’hélice d’ADN comme ceux formés par les rayons UV. La NER se divise en deux sous-voies : la réparation global du génome (GGNER), responsable de réparer l’ADN transcriptionnelement inactif ainsi que le brin nontranscrit de gènes actifs, et la réparation couplée à la transcription(TC-NER), responsable de réparer le brin transcrit de gènes actifs. La TC-NER ne diffère de la GG-NER que par la méthode de reconnaissance du dommage et va réparer les dommages plus rapidement que la GG-NER. Chez Saccharomyces cerevisiae, les gènes de l’ARN ribosomal peuvent exister en 2 états distinct dans la cellule, soit actifs et transcrits par l’ARN polymerase I ou soit inactifs et recouverts de nucléosomes. Des études ont démontré que suite à une irradiation aux UV, il y avait fermeture des gènes ribosomaux actifs et réouverture au fur et à mesure que les dommages sont réparés. De plus, il a été démontré, qu’après irradiation, il y avait une présence plus importante d’ARN polymerase I au début du gène qu’à la fin. Ces évidences suggèrent que la TC-NER va réparer les dommages au début du gène et que son influence va diminuer au fur et à mesure qu’on avance dans le gène. Ainsi, les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire vise à évaluer l’impact de la TC-NER sur la cinétique de réparation de l’ADN ribosomal. À cet effet, une série d'extension d’amorces ont été effectuées dans différentes régions du gène de l’ARN ribosmal 35S. Ces analyses ont montré que la réparation des dommages UV au début du gène est médiée par la TCNER alors que plus loin dans le gène, la réparation est médiée en plus grande partie par la GG-NER. De plus, l’analyse de la réparation dans la région terminatrice de la transcription a montré que la TC-NER s’arrête au site principal de terminaison T1 dans une souche WT. Alors que dans une souche ayant un défaut dans le terminaison de la transcription, rpal2A, la TC-NER arrête au site terminaison secondaire T2. Dans une autre souche déficiente dans la terminaison, nsi1[triangle], le TC-NER n’est pas détectable après le site T1, mais une réparation plus rapide est observée après le site T2. [symboles non conformes]

Frequent rearrangements, typically through homologous recombination in plant mitochondrial genomes often result in different upstream and downstream sequences for the same gene among a number of species. Transcription and RNA processing signals are therefore different, even among closely related plants. To evaluate the impact of DNA rearrangements on gene expression I conducted a comparative analysis of the S7 ribosomal protein gene (rps7) among a number of grasses: wheat, rice, maize, barley, rye, brome, Lolium and oats (grasses whose evolutionary divergence times range from about 5 to 60 Mya). Using circularized-RT-PCR to simultaneously map rps7 transcript termini I found that 3’ends for various RNA species are homogeneous, mapping to conserved sequences among plants. 5’ termini are more complex and can be both discrete and heterogeneous for different transcripts, both within and among plants. Genome rearrangements upstream of the rps7 start codon for some but not all species has led to plant-specific signals for both rps7 transcription and RNA processing. Termini for rps7 precursor species in wheat and Lolium are very discrete and likely use different upstream tRNAs as processing signals for end-cleavage. A number of potential stem-loop structures have also been identified at or near 5’ and 3’ termini which may function in maturation of transcript ends or provide transcript stability and protection from degradation by ribonucleases. C-to-U RNA editing of non-coding sequences, a rare event, was observed at multiple sites within the 5’ and 3’UTRs among plants. Some sites may even be developmentally regulated as CR-RT-PCR experiments were conducted using mitochondrial RNA isolated from seedlings and germinating embryos. Taken together, my observations demonstrate the frequency of upstream DNA rearrangements and the variety of signals used for expression of rps7 among grasses, providing new insights into the complexities of mRNA production in plant mitochondria.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Florida, 2004. / Typescript. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 117 pages. Includes Vita. Includes bibliographical references.