Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Honors Paper

Degree Name

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology-BS

Department

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Advisor

John Tansey, Ph.D.

First Committee Member

John Tansey, Ph.D.

Second Committee Member

Jennifer Bennett, Ph.D.

Third Committee Member

Stephanie Patridge, Ph.D.

Keywords

Lipid Metabolism, Evolution, Bioinformatics, CGI-58, ATGL, Perilipin

Subject Categories

Bioinformatics | Other Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Abstract

Lipolysis is a conserved pathway used by organisms for the mobilization of fatty acid (FA) out of triacylglycerol (TAG). Neutral lipids are stored in lipid-storage droplets (LSD) which are in nearly every cell of an organism. LSDs are the location of lipolysis. Perilipin proteins are lipid-droplet associated proteins. Perilipins interact with other proteins such as ATGL that breaks down TAG into FA and DAG. Because of its conservation as a whole system, this suggests that proteins of the same pathway are evolving together. This present study traces the evolutionary history of lipolysis-related proteins amongst individual organisms and classes of organisms to look at the conservation of relationship between the proteins.

Available for download on Sunday, April 20, 2025

Share

COinS