Purification and characterization of putative RNA binding protein from plasmodium falciparum
Malaria is a disease caused primarily by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum. It is a major problem in developing countries and affected up to 214 million people in 2015. Resistance to antimalarial medicine is an ongoing obstacle. Not only has quinoline resistance become widespread around the wor...
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Format: | Final Year Project |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2016
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67374 |
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Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
Language: | English |
Summary: | Malaria is a disease caused primarily by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum. It is
a major problem in developing countries and affected up to 214 million people in
2015. Resistance to antimalarial medicine is an ongoing obstacle. Not only has
quinoline resistance become widespread around the world, disconcertingly,
artemisinin resistance is also emerging in parts of Southeast Asia. This highlights a
need for the continuous development of new antimalarial drugs that targets critical
components in the parasite’s life-cycle. A 2010 study had previously identified the
PF13_0318 gene as being crucial for intraerythrocytic development. This gene codes
for a putative RNA binding protein. In this study, three previously created constructs
containing the active region of PF13_0318 were expressed and purified using NiNTA affinity chromatography and size exclusion chromatography. Various methods
including EMSA, size exclusion chromatography and florescent labelled RNA
detection provide conclusive evidence that all three constructs display RNA-binding
activity. Some distinctions between the RNA sequences preferred by the three
constructs can also be drawn. These results affirm the potential for the development
of the PF13_0318 RNA-binding protein as a drug target. |
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