Biological Sciences thesis and dissertation collection
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Recent Submissions
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Cell size regulation of Escherichia coli at high osmolarity
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)The goal of the study of bacterial physiology, and in the study of biophysics more broadly, is to apply quantitative predictive models to the behaviour of complex living organisms. Just as is the case with thermodynamics, ... -
Effects of external fluctuations on the stochastic dynamics of gene regulatory networks
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)In systems biology, intracellular gene expression networks are modelled as mass balance chemical reactions. These schematic pathways are often simplified and miss significant details such as intermediate templates or enzymatic ... -
Identification and characterisation of spindle checkpoint silencing factors in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)In cell division, the spindle-assembly checkpoint (SAC) is an important mechanism which ensures proper segregation of chromosomes into daughter cells by delaying anaphase onset until all chromosomes are correctly ... -
Identification of non-coding RNA interactions that dictate Staphylococcus aureus virulence
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium which has gathered much attention over the past decade due to the emergence of both antibiotic-resistant and hyper-aggressive strains. These pose a significant threat to human health, ... -
Decision aid to support the use of curative late blight fungicides
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)Late blight, caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary remains a severe threat to potato production in temperate regions and necessitates a high volume of fungicide inputs. A recent focus of ... -
RNA landscape of ILF3
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)During viral infections, the presence of viral-derived dsRNA triggers a translational shut-off response affecting translation of both host and viral-derived mRNAs. This response is mediated by the phosphorylation ... -
Fox and the city: understanding the influence of urban environment on the disease ecology of red foxes
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)The “city fox phenomenon” is a relatively new one. The presence of established Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations in highly urbanised areas was first reported from London at the beginning of the 20th century; since then ... -
Spatial transcriptome analysis of the human developmental haematopoietic stem cell niche
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)During human embryonic development the first definitive haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) arise in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region between Carnegie stages (CS) 13 to 17. More specifically, these HSCs are considered ... -
Design and engineering genetic tools for Desulfovibrio alaskensis
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)Microorganisms, such as the anaerobic bacterium Desulfovibrio alaskensis, have evolved various mechanisms to resist high concentrations of toxic heavy metals; one of these mechanisms involves the synthesis of nanoparticles ... -
Genome evolution in the genus Caenorhabditis
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an important laboratory model organism that has been fundamental to the understanding of metazoan biology. However, until recently, C. elegans has largely been studied ... -
Expanding the CRISPR toolbox for use within Bacillus subtilis
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)DNA editing is a vital tool in the development of biological systems for both research and commercial applications. Novel enabling tools accelerate strain engineering for the study of cellular mechanisms or production ... -
Application of synthetic polymer matrices to develop an in vitro thymus
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)The thymus is the primary lymphoid organ responsible to generating a self-restricted and self-tolerant repertoire of peripheral T-cell receptors. This process is collectively called thymopoiesis and depends on dynamic ... -
Escherichia coli’s response to hyposmotic shocks
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)Water is central for all living cells; in prokaryotes—also in fungi and plants— osmotic forces regulate the water available for cellular functions. The osmotic pressure inside a cell arises due to the higher concentration ... -
Development of synthetic biology tools and methods for plant systems
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)Plant synthetic biology is a fast-evolving field in which standardised tools and methods are developed to empower research and commercial bioproduction in plant systems. Nevertheless, in the whole synthetic biology ... -
Investigation into the role of LSH ATPase in chromatin remodelling
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)Chromatin remodelling is a crucial nuclear process affecting replication, transcription and repair. Global reduction of DNA methylation is observed in Immunodeficiency-Centromeric Instability-Facial Anomaly (ICF) syndrome. ... -
Investigating catalysis-independent roles of PRC2
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-04)The catalytic subunit EZH2 of Polycomb Repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is responsible for placing the histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) histone modification at nucleosomes, a mark associated with silenced genes. ... -
Role of the structural organisation of pericentromeres in chromosome segregation in budding yeast
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-02-04)Genome maintenance, function and transmission requires the adequate structural organisation of chromosomes. Central to this is the conserved ring-shaped protein complex, cohesin, that associates with chromosomes. ... -
Engineering thermostable protein nanocompartments for protein production and enhanced enzyme activity
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-02-06)The bacterial nanocompartments (encapsulins), produced by some species of bacteria and archaea, possess characteristics that can potentially overcome current challenges related to recombinant production of proteins. ... -
Rewiring central sulphur metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-02-13)Of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids used by life, only two contain a sulphur atom: methionine and cysteine. While most bacteria, fungi and plants possess the ability to synthesise sulphur amino acids from simple carbon, ... -
Characterising the roles of the members of the nuclear-encoded Rubisco small subunit family in Arabidopsis thaliana
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-02-03)Rubisco is the enzyme responsible for the net photosynthetic carbon fixation in plants. The enzyme consists of chloroplast-encoded large subunits and a family of nuclear-encoded small subunits (SSUs). SSUs are essential ...
