Defense Date

7-26-2006

Graduation Date

2006

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

thesis

Degree Name

MS

Department

Biological Sciences

Committee Chair

Nancy Trun

Committee Member

Jana Patton-Vogt

Committee Member

Joseph R. McCormick

Keywords

csp, gene expression, quantitative RT-PCR

Abstract

The cold-shock response in Escherichia coli induces a set of 26 proteins that help ensure the efficiency of transcription, translation, and DNA replication at low temperatures. Some members of this group belong to the cold-shock protein (Csp) family. In Escherichia coli K12, there are 9 homologous csp genes named cspA-cspI. The Csp family in this strain is unusual because each gene has different mechanisms of induction and gene products. Various regulation studies have been performed on individual members of this family to help understand why so many homologues exist. No literature to date has ever looked at the mRNA expression patterns of all 9 csp genes simultaneously. This study used quantitative RT-PCR to establish normal csp mRNA expression patterns at different stages of growth. I found under normal conditions, the mRNA accumulation patterns of csp gene pairs (A/B, G/I, C/E, and F/H) were most similar to each other.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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