RSS 1.0Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Electronic Theses and Dissertations (UMKC)
The items in this collection are the theses and dissertations written by students of the Division of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Some items may be viewed only by members of the University of Missouri System and/or University of Missouri-Kansas City. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
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Recent Submissions
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Identification of a Novel Link between the Motor Proteins Dynein and Kinesin-1
(University of Missouri–Kansas City, 2016)The motor proteins dynein and kinesin are fascinating biological machines which, like vehicles in a city, move various cellular cargoes along cytoskeletal microtubules (MT). In filamentous fungi, these motors are important ... -
Structural Basis for the Formation of PTPRG•CNTN Complexes in Neural Tissues
(2016)Receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase gamma (PTPRG) is a cell surface receptor expressed primarily on neurons. It combines cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase domains and an extracellular region that includes a carbonic ... -
Independent Functions Of Clueless In Differential Integrin Secretion And Mitochondrial Quality Control In Drosophila Muscle
(2015)Drosophila Clueless (Clu) and its conserved orthologs are known for their role in the prevention of mitochondrial clustering. Here, we uncover its independent roles in the delivery of integrin subunits and the regulation ... -
Regulation of Gene Expression by Non-coding RNAs in Arabidopsis and Brachypodium
(2014)Expansion of high-throughput sequencing technology has increased our understanding in the importance of pervasive transcription and the resulting indispensable molecules, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). A significant effort has ... -
The Role of Host Translation Initiation Factors eIF4H and eIF4A and the Exon Junction Complex in the Control of mRNA turnover and Translation by the Virion Host Shut off Protein of Herpes Simplex Virus
(2013)During lytic infections, the HSV Vhs endonuclease (UL41) degrades many viral and cellular mRNAs. This endonuclease activity is dependent upon the ability of Vhs to bind the host translation initiation factors eIF4AI/II and ... -
The Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Prostaglandin E₂ in Myogenesis
(2013)Prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), the most abundant prostaglandin (PG) in our body, has multiple biological functions related to physiological activities and the development of diseases. Emerging evidence has shown that PGE2 plays ... -
The function of Drosophila Integrin-Dim7-Elmo-Mbc→Rac signaling pathway in the muscle attachment formation and maintenance
(2013)The Engulfment and Cell Motility (Elmo)-(Myoblast city) Mbc→Rac signaling pathway is evolutionarily conserved from C. elegans to vertebrates and is essential for many developmental processes, including phagocytosis and ... -
The Middle Region is Required for Phosphorylation Regulation of Ceramide Transfer Protein
(2013)The trafficking of ceramide from endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where it is synthesized, to the Golgi for sphingomyelin synthesis is mediated by the ceramide transfer protein (CERT) in a nonvesicular fashion. CERT is a cytosolic ... -
Disconnecting a Role for DNA Repair in the Pathogenicity of the Human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans
(2014)C. neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen causing fatal meningitis and lung infections. Worldwide every year around 625,000 deaths occur due to Cryptococcosis. A basic understanding of Cryptococcus virulence ... -
Mating Type Specific Roles During The Sexual Cycle Of Phycomyces Blakesleeanus
(2014)Phycomyces blakesleeanus is a filamentous fungus that belongs in the order Mucorales. It can propagate through both sexual and asexual reproduction. The asexual structures of Phycomyces called sporangiophores have served ... -
Evaluation Of HIF Inhibitors For The Treatment of Ocular Neovascular Diseases
(2015-06-02)Hypoxia-inducible-factor (HIF)-mediated expression of pro-angiogenic genes under hypoxia is the fundamental cause of pathological neovascularization in ocular diseases and cancers. Thus, the inhibitors of the HIF pathway ... -
Analyzing the effects of Cis-elements and trans-factors on the stability of the Gal1 mRNP
(2014)The highly dynamic and nonrandom spatial organization of the eukaryotic nucleus plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression. For example, in S. cerevisiae, several conditionally expressed genes relocate ... -
Bayesian Change Point Analysis of Copy Number Variants Using Human Next Generation Sequencing Data
(2014)Read count analysis is the principal strategy implemented in detection of copy number variants using human next generation sequencing (NGS) data. Read count data from NGS has been demonstrated to follow non homogeneous ... -
Regulation of Antimicrobial Peptide Genes in the Tobacco Hornworm Manduca sexta
(2015-05-26)The innate immune system, also known as natural or non-specific immune system, is conserved from insects to humans. The insect innate immune system is composed of humoral and cellular components. Insect humoral responses ... -
Determining the differential roles of the dock family of GEFs in drosophila development
(2015-05-19)The evolutionarily conserved Dock proteins function as unconventional guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs). Upon binding to ELMO (Engulfment and cell motility) proteins, Dock-ELMO complexes activate the Rho family ... -
Modulation of neuronal ryanodine receptor-mediated calcium signaling by calsenilin
(2013)Calsenilin is calcium (Ca2+) ion Ca2+ binding protein found in the nucleus, plasma membrane, and endoplasmic reticulum of neuronal cells. Calsenilin was first found to interact with two proteins involved in early-onset ... -
CALCULATING THE STRUCTURE-BASED PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIP OF DISTANTLY RELATED HOMOLOGOUS PROTEINS UTILIZING MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD STRUCTURAL ALIGNMENT COMBINATORICS AND A NOVEL STRUCTURAL MOLECULAR CLOCK HYPOTHESIS
(2013)Dendrograms establish the evolutionary relationships and homology of species, proteins, or genes. Homology modeling, ligand binding, and pharmaceutical testing all depend upon the homology ascertained by dendrograms. ... -
Discovery of Enzymes Responsible for an Alternate Mevalonate Pathway in Haloferax volcanii
(2014-09-30)Archaea are a distinct evolutionary domain of microorganisms that contain isoprenoids in ether linkages to glycerol rather than the ester linked fatty acids that characterize membranes of bacteria or eukaryotes. Radiolabeling ... -
Epigenetic Regulation Of The HIF Pathway And Novel Therapeutic Opportunities
(2014-08-28)The research presented in this dissertation is aimed at understanding the epigenetic regulation of the HIF pathway and the efficacy of treatment for retinal diseases and hemangioblastomas using HIF pathway inhibitors. ... -
Identification of motifs in the tribbles kinase required for substrate interactions
(2013)The gene tribbles encodes an atypical kinase that is evolutionarily conserved with important roles in regulation of cell signaling. In Drosophila melanogaster Tribbles (Trbl) directs the proteasomal degradation of the ...