Uncovering the Bursting Phenomenon of Gene Transcription in Prokaryotes
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
Wu, Fu-Rong
Abstract
Gene expression consists of two main steps: transcription and translation. It origins from the binding of RNA polymerases to their target sites on DNA sequences. The mechanism how RNA polymerases locate their target sites remains a puzzling mystery. It affects almost all aspects of biology. Over the past few decades, many related studies have been made on the regulation of gene expression. Although several models have been proposed and demonstrated for the mechanism, many details of the elementary steps of gene transcription in vivo are still open for debate.
This thesis aims to explain how the motion of RNA polymerases affects gene transcription dynamics and the transcriptional bursting. We introduce a random walk model for the motion of RNA polymerases along DNA during the search of target locations and the transcription process. In order to verify our model, we apply Monte Carlo simulation and simplified statistical computation to compare our prediction to prior experimental data.
The findings suggest that under proper assumptions, our model is able to explain the transcriptional bursting phenomenon, and computer simulations are consistent with prior experimental data. Our results also suggest some parameters which await experiments to justify their biological significances.
Subjects
gene transcription
transcriptional bursting
random walk
Type
thesis
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