Mentor/s
Dr. Alyssa Woronik
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Morphogenesis, or the development of form, is a universal process during development of multicellular organisms and is regulated by the precise spatiotemporal expression of genes within gene regulatory networks (GRNs). While advances have been made in mapping GRNs that control embryonic development in model organisms, we lack an understanding of how GRNs evolve and regulate post-embryonic morphogenesis. A theory for GRN evolution, known as the hotspot hypothesis, predicts that GRN architectures bias GRN evolution, such that the same genes will be repeatedly co-opted during convergent evolutionary events (i.e. the independent evolution of the same phenotype in multiple lineages). These genes are predicted targets because they are key regulators that occupy central positions within the GRN and are responsible for coordinating multiple gene modules that govern cellular events. This work aims to test the hotspot hypothesis using a post-embryonic morphogenic process, known as Tail Tip Morphogenesis (TTM), which evolved multiple times independently in Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematode lineages. In C. elegans a DM-domain transcription factor, known as DMD-3, is required and sufficient for TTM and is therefore the key regulator. Here we test the prediction that DMD-3 has been co-opted as the key regulator during an independent evolution of TTM within the related nematode Oscheius tipulae.
College and Major available
Biology
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential
Using CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing to Test the Hotspot Hypothesis
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Morphogenesis, or the development of form, is a universal process during development of multicellular organisms and is regulated by the precise spatiotemporal expression of genes within gene regulatory networks (GRNs). While advances have been made in mapping GRNs that control embryonic development in model organisms, we lack an understanding of how GRNs evolve and regulate post-embryonic morphogenesis. A theory for GRN evolution, known as the hotspot hypothesis, predicts that GRN architectures bias GRN evolution, such that the same genes will be repeatedly co-opted during convergent evolutionary events (i.e. the independent evolution of the same phenotype in multiple lineages). These genes are predicted targets because they are key regulators that occupy central positions within the GRN and are responsible for coordinating multiple gene modules that govern cellular events. This work aims to test the hotspot hypothesis using a post-embryonic morphogenic process, known as Tail Tip Morphogenesis (TTM), which evolved multiple times independently in Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematode lineages. In C. elegans a DM-domain transcription factor, known as DMD-3, is required and sufficient for TTM and is therefore the key regulator. Here we test the prediction that DMD-3 has been co-opted as the key regulator during an independent evolution of TTM within the related nematode Oscheius tipulae.
Students' Information
Alexis Navarro: neuroscience major, honors student, 2023 graduation year
Mikayla Tucci: biology major, honors student, 2024 graduation year