Project Director

Ferdoush, Jannatul

Department Examiner

Spratt, Henry G.; Barbosa, Jose

Department

Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

TATA-binding protein (TBP) and TBP-associated factors (Tafs) comprise RNA Polymerase II (RNA Pol II) pre-initiation complex. This universal component carefully controls the transcriptional initiation process. One of the Tafs, Taf13, also plays an important role in the regulation of RNA Pol II transcription initiation which is evolutionarily conserved from yeast to humans. It is found that Taf13 is overexpressed in cancer cells, although the exact mechanism that is responsible for this overexpression is unclear. Our hypothesis suggests that targeted degradation by the 26S proteasome via ubiquitylation [Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS)] may be the mechanism that regulates the stability of Taf13. To test this possibility, we evaluated the role of UPS on the stability of Taf13 in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Importantly for the first time, we found that Taf13 undergoes polyubiquitylation but it is not regulated by the 26S proteasome. These findings suggest further oncologic research topics for the development of therapeutic interventions for future patients of cancer.

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Henry Spratt and Dr. Jose Barbosa who agreed to be on my thesis committee and provided me with their insights. I would also like to additionally thank the following Professors for providing me with their resources to be able to proceed with my experiment: Dr. Jose Barbosa’s lab at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, who provided me with both plasmid pRS426 and the XLIB strain; Dr. Sukesh Bhaumik’s lab at the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale who provided me with plasmid pRS406, Dr. Daniel Finley’s lab at the Harvard University who provided me with the pUB221 plasmid, and Dr. Benjamin Stein’s lab at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for allowing me to use the lab’s ChemiDoc machine. I would like to thank Rizwaan Abdul Kadir (lab member of Dr. Ferdoush Lab) for helping with the bioinformatics research. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my thanks to my thesis director Dr. Jannatul Ferdoush who guided me through my research and made this work possible. Her guidance and enthusiasm gave me the confidence to complete this project.

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

5-2024

Subject

Eukaryotic cells--Genetics; Genetic transcription--Regulation; Oncogenes; Overexpression (Genetics); RNA polymerases; TATA box

Keyword

Molecular Biology; Overexpression; Transcription

Discipline

Molecular Biology

Document Type

Theses

Extent

vi, 34 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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