Date of Award:
5-2026
Document Type:
Dissertation
Degree Name:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department:
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Committee Chair(s)
Sean J. Johnson
Committee
Sean J. Johnson
Committee
Joan Hevel
Committee
Nicholas E. Dickenson
Committee
Ryan N. Jackson
Committee
Erin Bobeck
Abstract
Proper cellular health requires tight regulation of a class of small molecules called RNA (Ribonucleic acid). When RNA is improperly maintained, it leads to neurological disease and cancer. Our cells use a quality control system that searches for improper or unwanted RNA and removes it from the cell. It is unclear how cells control this process.
We explored the central coordinator of this process, a molecular machine called Mtr4. We discovered that Mtr4 from S. pombe, can burn energy but does not unwind or prepare the RNA for degradation. This is analogous to running your car engine without putting it into gear. In this work, we found that additional partners act as the gear selector and enable Mtr4 to process RNA. We also explored how chemical modifications on Mtr4 act as selectors by blocking which interacting partners can engage with Mtr4. Together, these describe layers of regulation using Mtr4 that can be used to protect the cell from faulty RNA.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Gold, Mark D., "Regulation of the RNA Helicase MTR4 in Nuclear RNA Decay: MTR4-Adapter Complexes, Post-Translational Modifications, And Conserved Binding Interfaces" (2026). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present. 728.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd2023/728
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