Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Kirchman, Paul A.

Abstract

Oxidative stress occurs when reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide anion (O2' —), hydroxyl radical (HO.), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), build up to detrimental levels in the cell, and effects of oxidative stress are associated with aging. Mitochondria are the main site of oxidative stress, most likely due to the high level of ROS produced during respiration. Mitochondrial aconitase is an enzyme involved in respiration; due to the presence of an iron-sulfur cluster in the active site, it is a target for ROS. A plasmid containing the aconitase gene to be inserted into Saccharomyces cerevisiae was designed, and will be used in the future for the pop-in pop-out method; mitochondrial aconitase will be subjected to point mutations, replacing several leucine and isoleucine amino acid residues with methionine residues near the active site and on the surface of the enzyme. The amino acid methionine has a sulfur group, which also acts as a target for ROS and could prevent inactivation of the iron-sulfur cluster of aconitase.

Comments

Includes bibliography.

Extent

25 p.

Identifier

FA00003557

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