To access this work you must either be on the Smith College campus OR have valid Smith login credentials.

On Campus users: To access this work if you are on campus please Select the Download button.

Off Campus users: To access this work from off campus, please select the Off-Campus button and enter your Smith username and password when prompted.

Non-Smith users: You may request this item through Interlibrary Loan at your own library.

Publication Date

2020

First Advisor

Steven A. Williams

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biological Sciences

Keywords

Neglected tropical diseases, Lymphatic filariasis, Gene regulation, Parasitic nematodes, Brugia malayi, Transcription factor and promoter interaction, Binding analysis

Abstract

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are diseases primarily afflicting individuals living in developing countries. One of the most damaging NTDs is lymphatic filariasis (LF), a disease caused by parasitic nematodes (Brugia malayi, Brugia timori, and Wucheria Bancrofti) resulting in the development of elephantiasis and other clinical manifestations. Though current efforts to combat LF have met with some success, the rise of resistance to commonly used antihelmintics indicates the need to develop new therapies. Gene expression in filarial parasites undergoes dramatic changes when the parasite is transmitted from mosquito vectors to human hosts, suggesting the possible use of transcription factors as drug targets. However, despite this critical need, little is known about promoters and transcription factors in filarial parasites. The aim of this study is to identify transcription factors in B. malayi that could serve as potential drug targets for combating filariasis. Previously, a comparative analysis between the protein sequence datasets of B. malayi and C. elegans identified a putative transcription factor, Bma-UNC- 86 and its cognate promoter mec-3. Through an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), the specific binding of the UNC-86 protein to the mec-3 promoter was confirmed. This allowed us to begin to use chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to investigate other binding locations of the UNC-86 protein in the B. malayi genome. This will further understanding of gene regulation in filarial parasites, and will identify a pool of potential parasite drug targets to combat parasitic nematodes.

Rights

2020 McKayla Elizabeth Ford. Access limited to the Smith College community and other researchers while on campus. Smith College community members also may access from off-campus using a Smith College log-in. Other off-campus researchers may request a copy through Interlibrary Loan for personal use.

Language

English

Comments

114 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color map. Includes bibliographical references (pages 110-114)

Download

Smith Only:
Off Campus Download

Share

COinS