Date of Award
Fall 12-15-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Biology
College
College of Science
First Advisor
Doug Van Hoewyk
Abstract/Description
Selenium is a required nutrient in animal life but has not been shown to be needed in plants. The model plant cell Chlamydomonas reinhardtii may be an exception as it appears to increase its growth rate in the presence of selenium. Because selenium has the same valence state as sulfur it may be incorporated into proteins as the modified amino acid selenocysteine. This incorporation of selenocysteine into protein may disrupt the disulfide bridges that give proteins the correct conformation. Misfolded proteins can wreak havoc on a cell. This stress can be measured through several parameters. Chlorophyll levels, glutathione levels, growth, and peroxidized lipid levels are just a few things that could be affected. This study is interested in the affects selenium has on those levels, and how they are affected when the proteasome is inhibited.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Vallentine, E. Patrick, "Effects of Selenium on the Freshwater Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with and Without the Proteasome Inhibitor MG132" (2012). Honors Theses. 68.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/honors-theses/68