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| author | Alexandra Elizabeth Garino |
| title | eEF3: The Next Great Antifungal Drug Target |
| abstract | The process of protein synthesis is crucial to the survival of every organism. Protein synthesis is accomplished
by the ribosome, and consists of three major steps: initiation, elongation, and termination. The elongation step is carried out by two canonical
elongation factors: eEF1A and eEF2. More recently, a third elongation factor was discovered: eEF3. eEF3 was determined to be fungal-specific; however,
the results presented in this study suggest that conservation of eEF3 may be more widely distributed throughout the lower eukaryotic kingdom. The
eEF3-like protein of Phytophthora infestans (PiEF3), an invasive oomycete, was cloned into Saccharomyces cerevisiae in order to determine
if this protein could functionally complement for the loss of the endogenous eEF3. Based on results of cell viability, protein expression of PiEF3, and
slight defects in protein synthesis, PiEF3 can support viability in S. cerevisiae as the sole eEF3 protein. Our data imply that eEF3 may be
conserved beyond the fungal kingdom, thus challenging the four decade old notion that eEF3 is a fungal-specific protein. Moreover, understanding the
distribution of eEF3 in lower eukaryotes contributes to a broader goal of developing an anti-eEF3 drug that should cause minimal collateral toxicity,
given eEF3's absence in higher eukaryotic organisms. |
| school | The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University |
| degree | B.A. (2017) |
| advisor | Stephen Dunaway, PhD |
| committee | Joanna Miller, PhD
Kimberly Choquette, PhD |
| full text | AEGarino.pdf |
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