Student Publications and Presentations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2104/10219
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Browsing Student Publications and Presentations by Subject "Caenorhabditis elegans"
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Item The Effect of Mutations in Toll-like Receptors on Caenorhabditis elegans Egg-Laying signaling(2018-08-06) Deande, Matthew Thomas; Hayashi, Merrick Max; Bougoulias, Michael; Smith, Brock David; Hilbig, Gabriel; Baylor University. Dept. of Biology.While many factors show to affect egg laying in C. elegans, we are interested in the downstream effects of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and their impact on egg laying because a direct relationship is still unknown. Studies have shown the importance of TLRs in the innate immunity of C. elegans and their ability to prevent gram-negative bacterial growth by identification of a single gene for TLR, tol-1. We hypothesize that tol-1 deficient C. elegan mutants will display a reduction in egg laying compared to the wild-type, due to a hindrance in an unknown signal transduction cascade. Part of this pathway would include the C. elegans' response to serotonin, a neurotransmitter stimulating hermaphrodite specific motorneurons (HSN), playing a central role in up-regulation of egg-laying behavior. In this study, egg laying assays were performed on N2 wild-type and tol-1 deficient C. elegans in serotonin. Additionally, the tol-1-/- worms were exposed to EMS mutagenesis, furthering our study. Results show that these worms experienced an increase in egg laying in the F2 generation, overcoming their initial resistance. Further experiments can be performed to elucidate the mechanism by which tol-1 deficient C. elegans overcame this mutation allowing them to surpass the N2 in egg laying ability.Item Effects of VPA on Mutated C. elegans(2018-08-06) Phan, Quynh-An Ngoc; Munnangi, Kavya; Beattie, Hailey Cristina; Tran, Sean; Lee, Chi-Hung; Baylor University. Dept. of Biology.Valproic acid (VPA) is a generalized drug used to alleviate a broad range of conditions in humans such as bipolar disorders as well as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and other neuromuscular diseases. The use of VPA in treatment of such diseases is due to its properties as a neurotransmitter inhibitor. In studies involving the N2 strain (wild type) of C. elegans, VPA has been shown to increase their lifespans through the regulation of insulin/IGF-1 growth factor signaling pathways. However, in humans, VPA can cause serious side effects, such as liver problems, bleeding, and a reduction in blood platelet count. In addition, VPA can decrease diacylglycerol (DAG) production and inhibit IP3 signaling in C. elegans, which results in the suppression of egg laying; the IP3 signaling pathway involves the release of calcium ions from endoplasmic reticulum into the intercellular matrix. In our study, we want to create a mutant of C. elegans resistant to these egg-laying inhibitory effects that VPA causes. The mutation in the experiment was induced by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). The mutants C. elegans were then bred and screened for their ability to reproduce when exposed to VPA. This procedure was performed and repeated until a generation of consistently VPA-resistant offspring was evident. The results of the project have positive implications for the future of VPAss use. If the induced mutations can be used to offset some of the negative side effects of VPA in C. elegans, then it may be worth researching possible ways to reduce the negative side effects that VPA causes in humans.Item Induced Mutation in Caenorhabditis elegans Causes Dopamine Resistance(2018-08-06) Walker, Brody; Grewal, Amanpreet Singh; Grayson, Nicholas Kallas; Harris, Luke Reed; Diokpa, Chijindu; Aceves, Tatiana; Lee, Myeongwoo.; Baylor University. Dept. of Biology.In humans, drug addiction is linked to varying dependencies of dopamine levels in the brain. The neurotransmitter is involved in many behavioral mechanisms in animals and mediates the reward pathway. In C. elegans, one of the effects of dopamine is to inhibit motor neuron activity and create a basal slowing response in the N2 (wild types). As a result, egg-laying in wild types is inhibited. To induce egg laying, mutagenized C. elegans were created with EMS (ethyl methansulfonate) to potentially produce a dopamine resistant mutation. After mutagenesis, 334 nematodes were isolated and screened for egg laying behavior. Both wild type and mutant nematodes were exposed to M9 (control), dopamine, and L-dopa (dopamine precursor) solutions. After 1 hour of incubation in these conditions, quantitative analysis was performed to assess the amount of eggs produced. Using an ANOVA test, statistical significance (p<0.001) was found between the wild type and mutant groups both exposed to dopamine. This implies there has been an induced dopamine resistance. The precursor to dopamine, L-dopa, showed similar effects with regard to egg laying behavior. When the dopamine pathway in C. elegans is known, the gene or group of genes implicated for dopamine resistance can be determined. Once identified, a homologous gene in humans could be located and studied for similar drug-resistant effects. The knowledge gained from this research has implications in the fields of gene therapy and drug abuse.