Poster abstracts

Poster number 7 submitted by Stephanie Clack

Comparison of Transcription using Short Single, Double, and Snapback DNA Templates

Stephanie Clack (Chemistry, John Carroll University), Tanya Lahood (Chemistry, John Carroll University), Oksana Kozlovskaya (Biology, John Carroll University), Michael P. Martin (Biology, John Carroll University)

Abstract:
Standard in vitro transcription assays use templates that are made of linear, double-stranded DNA. In this study we used novel templates that possessed a double-stranded promoter for T7 RNA polymerase recruitment, but the remainder of each DNA construct contained three different downstream variations. The control template utilized a linear, completely double-stranded DNA template. This was compared to two templates of the same length where one template strand was self-complementary and formed a hairpin (snapback), whereas the other strand possessed no self-complementary and remained single-stranded. All three templates produced RNA that was similar in length. We compared the kinetics of transcription at different temperatures in order to determine if there is preferential transcription of the three DNA variations at each temperature.

Keywords: transcription, siRNA, kinetics