Ubiquinone (UQ) is a lipid found in all cellular membranes. It is involved in multiple cellular processes, either directly or through its effect on the redox status of the cell. clk-1 encodes a highly conserved hydroxylase required for UQ biosynthesis. In C. elegans, mutations in clk-1 result in the accumulation of an UQ precursor, DMQ, and a pleiotropic phenotype in the mutants characterized by the slowing down of development, behaviors and aging. Additionally, in the absence of dietary UQ, clk-1 mutants also show a transient growth arrest and are sterile. Mutants that can suppress both sets of phenotypes in the point mutant clk-1(e2519) have been isolated. Their suppression patterns indicate that various aspects of the clk-1 phenotype can be uncoupled from each other. Furthermore, the analysis of their quinone content suggests that the phenotypes on UQ-producing bacteria are caused by the inability of dietary UQ to completely substitute for endogenous UQ. These suppressors carry mutations in tRNA genes, and thus to our knowledge, they are the first tRNA missense suppressors found in any metazoan.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.97981 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Nguyen, Thi Phuong Anh, 1982- |
| 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 Biology.) |
| Rights | © Thi Phuong Anh Nguyen, 2005 |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002487115, proquestno: AAIMR24756, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0119 seconds