Leadership Academy: Biology Abstracts
MEAGAN DAGENAIS (Natalie Stassen), 2004
COPRINUS CINEREUS: EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF MEIOSIS
Meiosis is a characteristic of most eukaryotes and is essential for the survival and variation of genes passed on to future generations. The objective of this research project was to create and identify new meiotic mutants of Coprinus cinereus. By using Restriction Enzyme Medicated Integration (REMI), transformants can be created through the insertion of a plasmid carrying a marker gene, hygromycin resistance. Although this research project is still in the REMI transformation stage, continued research will lead to the identification of mutants by the lack of spore production. This disruption in the meiosis process would be identified in white fruiting mushrooms. There are estimated to be hundreds of meiotic genes, but only a handful has been identified so far. By identifying the genes responsible for meiosis and their functions, a door to the mysteries of meiosis and its evolution could potentially be unlocked.
DANIEL SAVUKOSKI (Michael Brodsky), 2004
THE IDENTIFICATION AND MAPPING OF CKOF1, A NOVEL DNA DAMAGE CHECKPOINT GENE IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Signal transduction pathways known as cell cycle checkpoints respond to DNA damage by promoting both cell cycle arrest and DNA repair. To analyze these processes, a group of 12,000 mutant, yet viable, strains of Drosophila melanogaster were previously made (Zucker et al. San Diego CA) and screened for mutagen sensitivity (MUS) (Hawley et al. Davis, CA). Out of those 12,000 strains, 41 new MUS strains were isolated. We have used a cell cycle arrest assay to screen those MUS strains and have identified ckof1, a novel checkpoint mutant that blocks the early stages of DNA damage induced cell cycle arrest. Initial analysis of ckof1 individuals indicated a recessive mutation within a novel gene on Drosophila’s third chromosome. Further analysis using recombination and deficiency mapping has mapped ckof1 to the chromosomal interval of 64B13-64D3, a region that contains about 88 genes. In the future, the goal is to continue narrowing down the region of interest and to ultimately identify which gene is disrupted in ckof1 individuals.
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