Team:UMass-Dartmouth/Description
Abstract
Much like proteins, solitary strands of RNA develop secondary structures due to the bonding between nucleotides which comprise the RNA strand. The secondary structures can inhibit ribosomal binding and translation initiation, preventing synthesis of amino acids and proteins. Through the introduction of heat, the bonds between nucleotides can be separated creating a linear strand of RNA which may be translated. This temperature-controlled gene expression may be used in any variety of applications given further foundational research in quantifying protein production whilst knowing the secondary structure and melting temperatures. To allow for such quantification, synthetic RNA sequences of known secondary structure and corresponding melting temperatures will be ligated upstream of reporter fluorescent and chromoprotein genes. The varying levels of color or fluorescence expression based on the temperature of the studied cells will be used to create mathematical models for future use of RNA thermometers.
