Poster abstracts
Poster number 21 submitted by Andrew Riley
Cloning and Overexpression of Pseduouridine Monophosphate Synthase from Escherichia Coli
Andrew Riley (Department of Chemistry, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), Austin Woodard (Department of Chemistry, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), Mina Sumita (Department of Chemistry, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)
Abstract:
RNA modifications are very prevalent throughout nature and play a variety of roles in protein expression. Among these modifications, the most abundant is the modification of uridine to pseudouridine (Ψ). Pseudouridine has been found in the dynamic region of RNA structures, and it is believed to play an important role in the structural dynamics of these motifs. This is believed to be due to the increased rotational freedom of the C-C glycosidic bond between the base and its ribose. Multistep organic synthesis of Ψ has been proven to be very difficult because of its stereochemistry. Therefore, a semi-enzymatic synthesis has been proposed to synthesize Ψ in an efficient and cost-effective manner. This process involves cloning and overexpressing the yeiN gene from E. coli, which codes for pseudouridine synthase. By using this enzyme, isotope-labeled Ψ can be generated in significant quantities for RNA structural studies. It can then be used to give insight into the structural and functional effects of Ψ has on RNA motifs
Keywords: RNA modification, pseudouridine