Submission Date

4-27-2015

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Biology

Adviser

Rebecca Lyczak

Committee Member

Rebecca Lyczak

Committee Member

Dale Cameron

Committee Member

Robin Clouser

Department Chair

Kathryn Goddard

Project Description

The establishment of the anterior-posterior axis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans begins before the first cell division when cellular components and proteins localize to opposite ends of the one-cell embryo. The puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase PAM-1, encoded by the gene pam-1, is essential to this process, and embryos defective for pam-1 have a very high lethality rate. In order to identify other genes that are involved in polarity, we created pam-1 strains with additional mutations that suppress the pam-1 high-lethality phenotype. We then, using SNP mapping, mapped these genes in an attempt to identify them and further characterize the genes involved in C. elegans polarization. I have identified and characterized one suppressor, lz6, that suppresses at 75% to 100% and appears to be semidominant. I have also narrowed down the possible chromosomal location of lz5, another suppressor that is recessive and suppresses at 29%. It appears to be located on chromosome IV or the middle region of chromosome II. Further mapping and characterization, as well as sequencing, are needed to identify this gene. When the lz5 gene is located and sequenced, it can then be identified, adding to the current knowledge of genes involved in early embryo polarization in C. elegans.

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