Biochemical and Genetic Analyses of Rna-Protein Interactions

Fouts, Derrick Eugene

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/86721 Copy

Description

Title

Biochemical and Genetic Analyses of Rna-Protein Interactions

Author(s)

Fouts, Derrick Eugene

Issue Date

1997

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Daniel W. Celander

Department of Study

Microbiology

Discipline

Microbiology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Biology, Molecular

Language

eng

Abstract

The coat protein from bacteriophage R17/MS2 functions to repress translation of replicase and functions to encapsidate the RNA genome of the phage. The coat protein accomplishes these functions by interacting with a 21 nucleotide stem-loop structure located within the translation initiation region of the bacteriophage replicase gene. A great deal is known about the genetics and biochemistry of the RNA-protein interaction; however, the mechanism of translational repression is unclear. One model has the coat protein sequestering the SD sequence and AUG start codon in secondary structure while another model suggests that coat protein blocks 16S rRNA access to the RNA by steric masking. A new method for the construction of RNA challenge phages in a single recombination reaction was employed to create several replicase translational operator variants which have the hairpin structure recognized by coat at varying distances from the ant gene of bacteriophage P22 to demonstrate the mechanism of repression to be masking. Applying this knowledge, RNA-protein interactions of other systems can be studied using the RNA challenge phage system.

Graduation Semester

1997

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/86721

Owning Collections