Date of Award
Fall 2019
Document Type
Thesis Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biology
Committee Chairperson
Erin Gestl, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Jessica Sullivan-Brown, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Gustave Mbuy, Ph.D.
Abstract
Translesion synthesis (TLS), a mechanism that tolerates DNA damage, incorporates specialized DNA polymerases during replication that bypass specific lesions on the leading strand. Polymerase η, one of these specialized polymerases, is recruited to the replication fork to bypass thymine-thymine dimers. In order to further examine the role of Pol η during the process of TLS, a zebrafish model organism was used to determine how UV light affects apoptosis. Apoptosis was quantified with an acridine orange assay, and additional knock-down effects of pol η were explored with customized morpholinos via altered splicing. Overall, the custom morpholinos functioned as expected and apoptosis quantification displayed elevated fluorescence among zebrafish embryos treated with acridine orange and UV light.
Recommended Citation
Thompson, Rachel, "The Role of Polymerase Eta in Danio Rerio Translesion Synthesis" (2019). West Chester University Master’s Theses. 95.
https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/all_theses/95