Date of Award
12-2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Committee Chair
Faqing Huang
Committee Chair School
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Committee Member 2
Vijay Rangachari
Committee Member 2 School
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Committee Member 3
Yanlin Guo
Committee Member 3 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 4
Alex Flynt
Committee Member 5
Jacques Kessl
Committee Member 5 School
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Abstract
Though once considered as simply an intermediate form of gene expression, the myriad physiological roles of RNA elucidated over the last several decades have wholly transformed the scientific community’s understanding of RNA biochemistry and its significance in disease and therapeutics. As RNA modifications have been demonstrated to exert a plethora of roles integral to RNA function and fate, further illumination of RNA modifications, their biogenesis mechanisms, their physiological purposes, their therapeutic utilities, and their evolutionary descent have approached the forefront of modern RNA research. While the m7G cap was long believed to be the sole RNA cap and specific to eukaryotes, groundbreaking 2009 studies provided the first evidence for the previously-hypothesized existence of noncanonical caps such as NAD and CoA. As reliable methods for isolating intact NAD-capped RNAs swiftly followed these initial reports, much has been elucidated regarding NAD-RNA such as its biogenesis mechanisms, physiological titers, and physiological roles in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. However, the biological synthesis and purposes of FAD-capped RNAs have largely remained undetermined, with less than a handful of reports to date describing FAD-RNA detection and only a single report detailing physiological roles and synthesis. This deficiency in FAD-RNA investigations is largely due to the lack of reliable methods for isolating intact FAD-RNAs. Here, we report a flavin analog-based method for the isolation of intact FAD-capped RNAs, as well as strategies and preparations for utilizing this method to identify FAD-RNAs generated in vivo and perform SELEX for FMN-specific FAD synthetase ribozymes.
Copyright
Jarrett W. Faulkner, 2025
Recommended Citation
Faulkner, Jarrett W., "Synthesis of Flavin Analogs for Isolation of FAD-capped RNAs" (2025). Dissertations. 2411.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2411