Browsing Doctoral Theses by Author "Centre for Biotechnology"

The Elucidation of the involvement of endonuclease DNase y in reducing DNA transfection efficiency in mammalian cells

Centre for Biotechnology (Brock University, 2005-05-28)

Gene therapy is predicated upon efficient gene transfer. While viral vectors are the method of choice for transformation efficiency, the immunogenicity and safety concerns remain problematic. Non-viral vectors, on the ...

Enantiodivergent chemoenzymatic synthesis of codeine

Leisch, Hannes G. (Brock University, 2009-05-28)

The present thesis describes our latest results in the chemistry of morphine alkaloids. An enantiodivergent synthesis of codeine utilizing a cis-cyclohexadiene diol derived from microbial whole cell oxidation of ...

An exploratory study for the discovery of non-invasive hepatocellular carcinoma biomarkers among high-risk hepatitis C virus infected patients

Abdalla, Moemen. (Brock University, 2009-01-28)

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a major healthcare problem, representing the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Chronic infections with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or Hepatitis C virus (HCV) ...

Functional Characterization of Monoterpenoid Indole Alkaloid (MIA) Biosynthetic Genes in Catharanthus roseus

Salim, Vonny (Brock University, 2013-08-23)

The monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) of Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) are known to be among the most important source of natural drugs used in various cancer chemotherapies. MIAs are derived by combining ...

Icewine fermentation by Saccharomyces cervisiae : fundamental stress responses and comparative fermentation dynamics

Pigeau, Gary M. (2012-12-13)

Icewine is a unique dessert wine fermented from the juice of grapes that have frozen naturally on the vine. Fermentations of 40 Brix (>400g/L soluble solids) juice typically used in Canada to produce Icewine are ...

The Ligand and Membrane-binding Behaviour of the Phosphatidylinositol Transfer Proteins (PITPa & PITPb)

Baptist, Matilda

Human Class I phosphatidylinositol transfer proteins (PITPs) exists in two forms: PITPα and PITPβ. PITPs are believed to be lipid transfer proteins based on their capacity to transfer either phosphatidylinositol (PI) or ...

Mechanism of tocopherol transfer by human α-tocopherol transfer protein (α-hTTP)

Zhang, Wen Xiao (Brock University, 2010-10-26)

Vitamin E is a well known fat soluble chain breaking antioxidant. It is a general tenn used to describe a family of eight stereoisomers of tocopherols. Selective retention of a-tocopherol in the human circulation ...

The Molecular Consequences of CK2-mediated Phosphorylation of the TGA2 Transcription Factor within Systemic Acquired Resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana

Bosak, Jan (Brock University, 2014-08-05)

During infection, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is capable of activating long lasting defence responses both in tissue directly affected by the pathogen and in more distal tissue. Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) ...

Novel glutathione disulfide transferase function of CC-glutaredoxins involved in disease resistance and flower development

Slavickova, Nina (Brock University, 2014-08-05)

Glutaredoxins are oxidoreductases capable of reducing protein disulfide bridges and glutathione mixed disulfides through the process of deglutathionylation and glutathionylation. Lately, redox-mediated modifications of ...

Novel plant DNA binding protein: Non-expresser of pathogenesis related 1 gene (NPR1) involved in disease resistance

Pirnia, Saba

For the first time, through validation of the modified Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) method (in vitro ChIP), the direct binding of NPR1 to the PR1 promoter was demonstrated. This is a novel advancement on plant ...

ORGANOSILICON BIOTECHNOLOGY: A BIO-INSPIRED APPROACH TO THE HYDROLYSIS OF ALKOXYSILANES and THE LIPASE-CATALYZED SYNTHESIS OF SILOXANE-CONTAINING POLYESTERS AND POLYAMIDES

Frampton, Mark B. (Brock University, 2013-02-22)

The first part of this thesis studied the capacity of amino acids and enzymes to catalyze the hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethoxysilane and phenyltrimethoxysilane. Selected amino acids were shown to accelerate the ...

The osmoadaptive response of the wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae K1-V1116 during icewine fermentation

Martin, Stephanie J. (Brock University, 2008-05-28)

The adapted metabolic response of commercial wine yeast under prolonged exposure to concentrated solutes present in Icewine juice is not fully understood. Presently, there is no information regarding the transcriptomic ...

Plant rhizosphere specificity and variability in the insect and plant adhesins, Madl and Mad2, within the genus Metarhizium suggest plant adaptation as an evolutionary force

Wyrebek, Michael (2013-04-19)

Metarhizium is a soil-inhabiting fungus currently used as a biological control agent against various insect species, and research efforts are typically focused on its ability to kill insects. In section 1, we tested the ...

Prostate Cancer and the Search for Novel Biomarkers

Haj-Ahmad, Taha Alexander (Brock University, 2013-05-06)

The primary objective of this research project was to identify prostate cancer (PCa) -specific biomarkers from urine. This was done using a multi-faceted approach that targeted (1) the genome (DNA); (2) the transcriptome ...

Regulation of Systemic Acquired Resistance through the Interaction of Arabidopsis thaliana Transcription factors TGAI and TGA2 with NPRI

Rochon, Amanda (2012-07-31)

Arabidopsis thaliana is an established model plant system for studying plantpathogen interactions. The knowledge garnered from examining the mechanism of induced disease resistance in this model system can be applied to ...