Model organism Caenorhabditis elegans is a 1 mm long, soil-dwelling hermaphrodite nematode, which feeds on bacteria. Contributing to a peptidomic project, procedures to compare the peptide content of different life stages have been developed for monitoring protein expression, processing and turnover. Sequential step and continuous gradient RP-HPLC fractionation and mass spectrometry have proved effective. / A class of cysteine-rich peptide previously discovered in this laboratory has been studied. Three chromosome V genes encode such peptides. The small, cysteine-rich, and secreted character is reminiscent of some cysteine-containing antimicrobial peptides, notably mytilins and mytilins (Mytilus galloprovincialis ), Ascaris suum antibacterial factor (ASABF) and its C. elegans homologues (ABF-1, ABF-2). ABF-2 is antimicrobial against Gram positive bacteria. / To obtain sufficient peptide for structural and functional studies, recombinant genes have been expressed in yeast, to produce native and epitope-tagged forms. Their activity remains unknown, but ABF2 has also been expressed and is active.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.84050 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Le Sage, Valerie |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Microbiology and Immunology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002261922, proquestno: AAIMR22742, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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