In my dissertation I have broadly studied the evolution of RNA as well as the phylogenetic history of the actin protein family. In the first chapter I examined how various evolutionary processes interact at high mutation rates, which led to simple prediction based on the strength of selection. In the second chapter, I tested mRNA secondary structure stability at the beginning of genes as a way of identifying whether putative genes might be functional or not. Finally, I reconstructed the phylogenetic history of the actin protein family in vertebrates, revealing that a novel isoform is actively evolving in contrast to the remaining protein isoforms.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/30391 |
| Date | 20 August 2015 |
| Creators | Keller, Thomas E. |
| Contributors | Bull, James J., Wilke, C. (Claus) |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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