REGULATION OF ALTERNATIVE SPLICE SITE SELECTION Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf vorgelegt von KUSUM KUMARI SINGH aus Samastipur, Indien Düsseldorf, 2009 Aus dem Institut für Molekulare Medizin der Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf Gedruckt mit der Genehmigung der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf Referent: Prof. Dr. Klaus Schulze-Osthoff Koreferent: Prof. Dr. Heinz Mehlhorn Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 20 Jan 2009 TO MY PARENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to this dissertation in innumerable ways, and I am grateful to all of them. Firstly, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Prof. Klaus Schulze-Osthoff for his generosity with his time, encouragement and advice concerning the project. Without his support, this project would not have been possible. I thank Prof. Heinz Mehlhorn for his helpful advices, supervision and for making it possible for me to present this thesis. My special thanks to my supervisor Dr. Christian Schwerk, the main driving force behind the projects. I deeply appreciate for his invaluable discussions, advices, and encouragements throughout this work. I thank our collaborators, Prof.