Tools for Exploring Non-Synonymous Variation in Arabidopsis thaliana

• Main Author: Cumming, Matthew
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2018
• Subjects: Bioinformatics; Cellular biology; Systematic biology
• ISBN: 0438674464; 9780438674462

High throughput sequencing has opened the doors for investigators to probe genetic variation present in large populations of organisms. In plants, the 1001 Genomes Project (1001genomes.org) is one such effort that sought to characterize the extant worldwide variation in Arabidopsis thaliana for future analyses to compare and draw upon. In my thesis I began the construction of a synthetic yeast pathway to test the effects of natural non-synonymous variants on the activation of the A. thaliana abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway in the hopes of characterizing variants that modulate pathway output. I constructed a series of expression cassettes to confirm the correct expression and localization of our ABA members and laid the groundwork for future members to continue constructing the pathway. Additionally, I created a web application called The Variant Viewer, for investigators to query the 1001 Genomes database and view variants in any A. thaliana gene.