The regulatory potential of marine cyanobacteria [Elektronische Ressource] : transcriptional factors and small RNAs / von Ilka Maria Axmann

The Regulatory Potential of MarineCyanobacteria: Transcriptional Factors andSmall RNAsstudied in a comparative genomics approachDISSERTATIONzur Erlangung des akademischen Gradesdoctor rerum naturalium(Dr. rer. nat.)im Fach Biologieeingereicht an derMathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät IHumboldt-Universität zu BerlinvonFrau Diplom-Ingenieurin Ilka Maria Axmanngeboren am 21.12.1976 in RäckelwitzPräsident der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin:Prof. Dr. Christoph MarkschiesDekan der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät I:Prof. Thomas Buckhout, PhDGutachter:1. Prof. Dr. Thomas Börner2. Prof. Dr. Karl Forchhammer3. Dr. David J. ScanlanTag der mündlichen Prüfung: 17. Juli 2006AbstractLife on Earth is driven by the power of oxygenic photosynthesis transforming solar into chemicalenergy. Cyanobacteria such as Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus belong to the most importantprimaryproducerswithintheoceansandincreasinglyserveasmodelsforphotosyntheticorganisms.To better understand the regulatory mechanisms in these picocyanobacteria, here the informationfrom four genomes of closely related and even so ecologically divergent marine strains was used ina combined computational and experimental approach. Sequence signals and RNA-coding genesas novel elements in the regulation of gene expression were identified and their distribution alongthe phylogenetic gradient compared.