TruD's Effect On RNA Oxidation

Age-related neurodegenerative diseases impact society in an increasing rate. Oxidative damage to cellular molecules is considered the main cause of many neurological diseases such as, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc. Understanding the mechanism and what cleans up oxidized molecules is vital in order to further explore therapeutic research for neurodegenerative diseases. RNA damage is potentially a major contributor to these diseases. However, compared to our knowledge about DNA, little is known about the mechanism that cells use to eliminate damaged RNA. Our objective in this study is to understand the role of proteins that specifically bind oxidized RNA. We will focus on one such protein TruD in Escherichia coli. By studying how TruD and its mutants help E. coli to survive oxidative stress, we hope to elucidate a mechanism by which cells fight against RNA oxidation, and to suggest disease-preventing mechanisms by the human TruD homologs on a molecular level.