arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Valentina Agoni.
So far mutations analysis was performed in terms of transitions and trasversions, so on the basis of the molecule, or in terms of GC-content and isochors, through the quantification of GC->AT mutations over AT->GC mutations. We tried a different approach hypothesizing that probably we are partially protected (by the genetic code) from amyloid fibrils formation.
Many efforts have been done in order to explain the role of junk DNA, but its function remain to be elucidated. In addition the GC-content variations among species still represent an enigma. Both these two misteries can have a common explanation: we hypothesize that the role of junk DNA is to preserve the mutations probability that is intrinsically reduced in GC-poorest genomes.
G-quadruplexes represent a novelty for molecular biology. Their role inside the cell remains mysterious. We investigate a possible correlation with mRNA localization. In particular, we hypothesize that Gquadruplexes influence fluid dynamics.
Point mutations can surely be dangerous but what is worst than to lose the reading frame?! Does DNA evolved a strategy to try to limit frameshift mutations?! Here we investigate if DNA sequences effectively evolved a system to minimize frameshift mutations analyzing the transcripts of proteins with high molecular weights.
The GC-content is very variable in different genome regions and species but although many hypothesis we still do not know the reason why. Here we show that a relationship exists with the mutation rate, in particular we noticed a new recurrence in the amino acids coding table. Moreover we analyze recombination frequency taking into account Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms hourglass distribution.
In the last years many powerful techniques have emerged to measure protein interactions as well as gene expression. Many progresses have been done since the introduction of these techniques but not toward quantitative analysis of data. In this paper we show how to study cellular adaptation and how to detect cellular subpopulations. Moreover we go deeper in analyzing signal transduction pathways dynamics.
Signal transduction pathways recover a crucial role in cellular processes: they represent a connection between environmental conditions and cellular reactions. There are many pathways and they all are related to create a network. But how can every protein find the right way more fast than possible? How can it find the right down-streaming kinase in the cellular sea and not another very similar kinase? Every signal transduction pathway can be seen as two distincted processes: the signal must reach every kinase and then it must travel through the enzyme until its active site: quantum walks could be the answer to both the questions.