Submission Date

7-19-2024

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Biology

Faculty Mentor

Rebecca Lyczak

Comments

Presented during the 26th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 19, 2024 at Ursinus College.

Project Description

PAM-1, the puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase is necessary for the formation of the anteroposterior axis and meiotic exit within the early embryonic stages of Caenorhabditis elegans. This protein is also found to influence the oocyte to embryo transition and oocyte maturation in the nematode. Since C. elegans have similar reproductive morphology and share homologous genes with the human counterpart, this research may be applied to infertility studies in humans. The proteins MBK-2 and CDK-1, which are involved in the oocyte to embryo transition and maturation, were studied to gain a better understanding of PAM-1’s role in fertility. To visualize the proteins, techniques such as confocal microscopy and antibody staining were used for pam-1 mutant and wildtype C. elegans. It is expected that localization of activity of these proteins may differ between the two strains as the pam-1 mutants take longer to complete the oocyte to embryo transition and experience more embryonic lethality than the wildtype C. elegans. With the use of the model organism C. elegans, understanding the mechanisms and function of the proteins within the oocyte to embryo transition becomes obtainable.

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