FURI | Spring 2024

Characterizing the binding efficiency of NR5A1’s G35E ZF mutation in a synthetic system

The objective of this research is to determine the binding efficiency of Steroidogenic Factor 1’s (SF-1) zinc finger domains (ZFs) by comparing mutations implicated in Adrenal Disease with the wildtype zinc finger domains. Here a synthetic SF-1 response element will be developed by engineering SF-1 binding sequences in front of a Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) reporter construct. Wherein, GFP expression will measure the binding of synthetic SF-1 zinc finger domains. This project will yield a synthetic reporter system for transcription factors (TF), including SF-1’s ZF domains, to better understand their ability to direct gene expression.