| dc.description.abstract | Understanding the mechanism of posttranscriptional gene control is of growing significance. Upstream open reading frames (uORFs) are of particular interest since they appear throughout the eukaryotic kingdom, from simple yeast to humans. These elements have the potential to regulate the translation of their associated open reading frame (ORF) when they are, themselves, translated. The focus of this project was to determine if the upstream open reading frames present in eIF5 and inositol-3-phosphate synthase transcripts in Neurospora crassa have regulatory activity. These have regulatory activity as determined through in vitro studies, using a luciferase assay, that measures the activity of an upstream open reading frame by placing it upstream of a luciferase reporter gene. The results of this assay were then compared with toeprinting data, performed by Cheng Wu in the lab, to confirm the results. As new information on genetic mechanisms emerges, so does the understanding of processes common for all
eukaryotic organisms. | en |
