COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
ADVISORS Madhuri Kango-Singh, Amit Singh LOCATION, TIME RecPlex, 11:00AM-12:30PM College of Arts and Sciences: Biology, Poster- Honors Thesis Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that has no cure, is marked by a gradual decreased cognitive function and is extremely prevalent in the aging population. Using Drosophila melanogaster, we create a model of Alzheimer’s disease by misexpressing a gene, Amyloid Beta 42 (Aβ42). Previous studies have shown that one of the many diverse functions of the CREB-binding protein (CBP) is a reduction of tau pathology, one of the causes of the neurodegenerative state in the Aβ42 phenotype. Our data shows that CBP has a neuroprotective role in the neurodegeneration seen in Alzheimer’s Disease. We have performed a structure-function analysis of the Aβ42 gene to determine which domains are crucial for the function of the protein.
Search for eye specific regulatory sequences of an axial patterning gene defective provetriculus (dve)
STUDENTS Kevin X Farley, Oorvashi Roy Gajendranath Puli ADVISORS Madhuri Kango-Singh, Amit Singh LOCATION, TIME RecPlex, 11:00AM-12:30PM College of Arts and Sciences: Biology, Poster- Graduate Research Development of an organism relies on patterning. We aim to study the genes and signaling pathways that regulate Dorso-Ventral (DV) patterning and specification during eye-head morphogenesis of the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. We have identified defective proventriculus (dve) as a novel dorsal eye gene, which is expressed in the dorsal anterior region of the eye-antennal disc. Based on preliminary data, dve is known to be a dorsal selector that is required to repress eye morphogenesis and promote head cuticle fate. We aim to identify and characterize the regulatory sequences responsible for dve expression in the eye. We tested 19 GMR transgenic lines, each controlling a distinct region of the regulatory sequence of dve and checked the expression pattern of these individual lines by crossing them with a UAS-GFP (green fluorescent protein) reporter with a nuclear localization signal (NLS). The results from our studies will be presented.
Sex-Dependent Electrophysiological Response of Lucilia sericata to a Vapor Concentration Gradient of Indole
STUDENTS Erin T Filbrandt ADVISORS Karolyn M Hansen LOCATION, TIME RecPlex, 11:00AM-12:30PM College of Arts and Sciences: Biology, Poster- Honors Thesis The blow fly, Lucilia sericata, is attracted to volatile organic compounds given off by decaying carrion. Anecdotal evidence indicates that males may respond to a different odor profile than females. Males are known to utilize flowers as a dietary source of sugar and may be attracted to the flowers by the scent of indole, a volatile compound that is also present in the carrion decay odor profile. This study investigated the responses of male and female blow flies to specific concentrations of indole in the adult stage of Lucilia sericata, the common green blow fly. Indole is a commonly used attractant at concentrations between 0-0.04% that has a floral scent at low concentrations and a fecal odor at high concentrations. Experiments were conducted using three organismal rearing treatments: male, female, and mixed male/female. All treatment cages were placed in an incubator to maintain stable temperature and light cycles. Each treatment cage received the identical diet to reduce any diet-influenced variables. Fly response to a concentration gradient of indole was measured using an the electroantennogram (EAG) , an instrument that records electrical depolarization occurring in the antenna of the organism when it is exposed to specific volatiles. Positive and negative controls were used to determine baseline responses; responses to varied concentrations of indole were compared to baseline measurements. I hypothesized that the responses of males, non-gravid females, and gravid females would differ from one other due to different dietary needs. The males were expected to respond to the lower concentrations of indole (flowery scent); the non-gravid females to lower and higher concentrations almost equally; and the gravid females most strongly to higher indole concentrations. Although responses were not as distinct as expected, the data set follows the general trend of the predicted responses.
Structure and Location of Sensory Structures of the Blow Fly, Lucilia sericata STUDENTS David Barry Foraker Kling 20