Poster abstracts
Poster number 42 submitted by Von Grogg
Using the ykkCD riboswitch as a caging compound for targeted drug delivery
Evan Jones (Ball State University), Von Grogg (Ball State University), Timea Gerczei (Ball State University )
Abstract:
Riboswitches are highly conserved elements in the mRNA that regulate gene expression by directly binding to a small molecular ligand. Ligand binding triggers an allosteric structural change that regulates expression of downstream genes by attenuating transcription or translation. The focus of this study is the ykkCD riboswitch from Bacillus subtilis. Earlier studies showed that ykkCD appears to specifically recognize tetracycline (tet) antibiotics and upregulates expression of downstream genes by attenuating transcription. The goal of this work is to demonstrate that the ykkCD riboswitch is a good candidate to be used as a caging compound or molecular sensor. To achieve this goal we will show that ykkCD is stable and functional under wide variety of conditions (temperature, pH, salt concentrations) and retains its stability and functionality when attached to nanoparticles. We present fluorescent binding assays and thermal melting studies to show that the ykkCD riboswitch is stable under a variety of conditions that are encountered in mammalian cells.
Keywords: Riboswitch , nano technology, fluorescent binding assays