fairfolio
Saved Projects

Analysis of Dauer Formation in Various Caenorhabditis Species

CSEF · 2003 Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology

Shirley Phan · Alhambra High School, Alhambra

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of the project is to discover the molecular components underlying the evolutionary changes in development and physiology by comparing the dauer pathway(a developmentally arrested third larvae stage that allows worms to survive when environmental conditions become adverse), in five Caenorhabditis roundworm species: C. elegans, C. briggsae, C. remane, CB5161, and PS1010. Methods/Materials An EMS (ethylmethanesulfonate) mutagenesis was conducted to obtain Daf-d, worms that cannot form dauers under any circumstances and Daf-c mutants, worms that forms dauers even when conditions are favorable to them are two classes of mutations that affect dauer formation. After Daf-d and Daf-c mutants are obtained, analysis such as, dye-filling assay to categorize the dauer mutants obtained, X-linkage tests to test for X-linked traits in dauer mutants, temperature assays and comparison of the level of Daf-7 (promoter gene that plays a role in either inducing or preventing dauer formation) production were conducted to analyze how the dauer pathway has evolved in diverging Caenorhabditis species. Results A totl of 24 Daf-d mutants were obtained through the EMS mutagenesis in the C. briggsae strain of which 8 out of the 1 was categorize as Daf-d cilium structure mutants. Two Daf-c mutants that are capable of suppessing dauer formation were also obtained in the C. briggsae train. A significant difference discovered is that a C. briggsae SDS (Sodiumdodecylsulfonate) sensitive mutant is not X-linked whereas the ancestral specie C. elegans exhibits both SDS sensitivity and X-linked characteristic. Temperature assay demonstrated that C. briggsae, C. remanei, CB5161 and PS1010 are more heat tolerant and hyperinductive to increasing temperature than the ancestral specie C. elegans. Results also concluded that the level of Daf-7 production is higher in C. briggsae, C. remanei, CB5161 and PS1010 than in C. elegans. Conclusions/Discussion In conclusion, the various comparison experiments conducted validatd that varying Caenorhabditis species such as C. briggsae, C. remanei, CB5161 and PS1010 exhibit both differences and similarities in gene function and gene locus thathave been brought forth by evolution which is significantly different in C. elegans, the ancestor specie.

Summary statement

My project is to study and to better understand the molecular components of evolution by comparing a shared pathway, the dauer pathway in various Caenorhabditis species.

Help received

Professor Paul Sternberg provided the equipment for my projet; Dr. Takao Inoue supervised my experiments and helped me with technical difficulties.

Awards (1)

  • Category Award

Competition history

  • CSEF 2003 Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology · Entry S0417

Resources

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

Source: California Science & Engineering Fair public projects

Save projects to your library

Sign in with Google to keep track of projects you find interesting, organized into folders. An account also raises your daily allowance for “Has this been done?”, and lets you create a key for the MCP server with a much higher limit than anonymous use. Browsing stays public.

Continue with Google