Current Search: Undergraduate Honors Theses (x) » In Search of Elements Controlling Replication Timing (x)
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Title
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In Search of Elements Controlling Replication Timing.
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Creator
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mrg12d@my.fsu.edu, Molly Gordon
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Abstract/Description
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A cell must replicate its DNA once and only once during each cell cycle in a carefully choreographed process. Disruption of this process leads to genomic instability and eventual diseases. One poorly understood aspect of DNA replication control is replication timing (RT), the strict temporal manner in which segments of chromosomes replicate during the cell cycle. In all eukaryotic cells observed to date, certain regions of chromosomes replicate early while the other regions replicate late....
Show moreA cell must replicate its DNA once and only once during each cell cycle in a carefully choreographed process. Disruption of this process leads to genomic instability and eventual diseases. One poorly understood aspect of DNA replication control is replication timing (RT), the strict temporal manner in which segments of chromosomes replicate during the cell cycle. In all eukaryotic cells observed to date, certain regions of chromosomes replicate early while the other regions replicate late. Furthermore, RT is regulated throughout development such that about half of the genome switches RT as ESCs differentiate to defined cell types. Because many diseases, like cancer, exhibit a disrupted RT program compared to that of healthy cells, it is possible for the mechanism controlling RT to offer information about the origins of these diseases. Based on recent studies, it is expected that DNA sequence alone is sufficient to control the mechanism of changes in DNA RT. To test this hypothesis, I analyzed the propensity of DNA sequences to control RT switches in two situations: outside of chromosomal context as well as in different sub-nuclear locations. If my hypothesis is supported, proper regulation of RT will be recapitulated and manipulated, respectively, in these artificial systems. Furthermore, it will be possible to narrow down the smallest sequences necessary to regulate RT through targeted DNA sequence deletions. Having a small segment of DNA that can control RT will bring us closer to filling in gaps in the overall mechanism orchestrating proper RT, which can help us better understand misregulation events such as those observed in cancers.
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Date Issued
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2016-04-22
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Identifier
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FSU_libsubv1_scholarship_submission_1461355746
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Format
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Thesis
