Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2009
Capstone Advisor
Dr. Mark Schmitt
Honors Reader
Dr. Scott Erdman
Capstone Major
Biology
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Biology
Abstract
This paper presents a method for imaging RNase mitochondrial RNA processing localization using fluorescent microscopy. RNase mitochondrial RNA Processing, MRP, is an essential ribonucleoprotein endoribonuclease that functions in the degradation of specific mRNAs that control the cell cycle. A mutation of the RNA component of RNase MRP leads to a genetic disorder called Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia. This disorder results from the decreased rate of cell growth because the mutant cell no longer has the ability to assemble rRNA, and cyclin-dependent cell-cycle regulation no longer functions correctly. My Capstone Project will study the localization and regulation of RNase MRP so that we can learn more about this disease, and also answer questions about how RNase MRP localizes, if the RNase MRP localization focus is the site of CLB2 mRNA degradation, and if RNase MRP re-localizes back to the nucleolus after mitosis is completed. RNase MRP is localized in the nucleolus, and CLB2 mRNA has been assumed to be degraded in the cytoplasm. A proposed model by Gill, et al. suggests that RNase MRP localizes to a single spot in the daughter cell’s cytoplasm, and these locations are where CLB2 is degraded. My project will involve tagging of an RNase MRP protein to give off a fluorescent signal under an ultraviolet microscope. I will then track localization of RNase MRP throughout mitosis. In addition, minimal constructs of RNase MRP will be created to further reduce the RNA component of RNase MRP and potentially be able to examine the structure using X-ray crystallography. The research conducted in these two experiments has helped lay the framework for future studies of the localization of RNase MRP during mitosis and may one day provide greater insight into new targets for Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia and cancer.
Recommended Citation
Marascalchi, Bryan, "Imaging of RNase Mitochondrial RNA Processing Localization Using Fluorescent Microscopy" (2009). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 453.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/453
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
