Date Thesis Awarded
5-2021
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Biology
Advisor
Lizabeth A. Allison
Committee Members
Leah B. Shaw
Mark Forsyth
Margaret Saha
Abstract
In recent decades, the field of molecular biology has fully embraced the computational era. From data analysis, to model building, to automation of experimental processes--due to the intrinsic properties such as abundance, orders of magnitude smaller than our perceivable surroundings, and complexity--molecular biology has benefited greatly from the increase in computational power.
In the study of the thyroid hormone receptor (TR), a protein that lies at the end of the genomic actions of the thyroid hormone system, two computational methodological improvements were suggested in this thesis. TR is a nuclear receptor that shuttles across the nuclear membrane, in a process described by the term “nucleocytoplasmic shuttling”. As a critical mechanism/pathway that regulates the subcellular localization of TR, nucleocytoplasmic shuttling is of great interest to be modeled. To tell the story from the perspective of an individual TR molecule, an agent-based modeling approach was conducted and analyzed in this thesis.
Fluorescence microscopy is often utilized for the investigation of TR’s subcellular distribution in laboratory settings. Tagged with GFP or other fluorophores, TR’s nucleus/cytoplasm localization can be investigated through visualization. Here, an automated fluorescence intensity measurement program was developed and tested with laboratory gathered data.
Recommended Citation
Xu, Minhang, "Model Thyroid Hormone Receptors' Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling with Agent-based Approach & Automated Fluorescence Intensity Measurement" (2021). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1664.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1664
