Thesis
Investigation of stochasticity in gene expression in response to osmotic stress
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102996
Abstract
Stochasticity in gene expression of a synthetic gene network in E.coli in response to osmotic stress has been characterized by fluorescence microscopy. A synthetic gene network consisting of three genes in a cascade that are sequentially downregulated and reported by CFP and YFP, and fourth independent gene reported by RFP has been subjected to osmotic stress in the range of 0.3 - 130 atmospheres exerted by NaCl and sucrose (0 - 3 M). The fluorescence intensities and self-correlation parameters for cfp, yfp, and rfp gene expression, and intrinsic, and extrinsic noise parameters for cfp-yfp, cfp-rfp, and yfp-rfp gene pairs determined from the respective protein expression exhibit a combined repression and activation dependence on osmotic stress. Stochasticity in gene expression is almost entirely due to intrinsic noise and decreases in the order cfp-yfp>cfp-rfp>yfp-rfp. This result is surprising given the gene construct where the expression of RFP protein should be independent of CFP and YFP proteins, whose genes repress each other. Under osmotic stress, interaction between coupled and uncoupled genes are activated or repressed to varying levels as a function of pressure contributing to stochasticity in the expression of the genes.
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Details
- Title
- Investigation of stochasticity in gene expression in response to osmotic stress
- Creators
- Gayathri Balandaram
- Contributors
- Subra Muralidharan (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Molecular Biosciences, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525038101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis