Presenter(s)

Chad M. Jaenke, Michael L. Weinstein

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Description

Genomes encode in DNA sequence the recipes for cellular products, notably proteins, and the switches that determine when during life and in which cell types these products are made. While the genetic code for protein recipes is known, a comparable code for these switches is lacking. This impedes understanding the genetic underpinnings of animals and their evolution, as switches (CREs) outnumber protein-coding genes by over an order of magnitude and switch evolution is thought to be a predominant mechanism of trait evolution. Both in vivo and in silico approaches exist to study CREs, but the former is low throughput, and the latter lacks validation of predictions. Our research merges these approaches to identify CREs controlling genes for an evolving fruit fly pigmentation trait. We will use sequences of CREs known to activate genes involved in pigmentation, in order to find the unknown CREs with similar activity. We will use the SCRMshaw bioinformatic tool to find putative CREs in the Drosophila melanogaster genome that control novel genes involved in pigmentation, based upon the putative CREs possessing DNA motifs similar to those within the known CREs. From this list, we will test eighteen for CRE activity in vivo as reporter transgenes. As a control, we tested a set of four randomly selected sequences of similar length and deoxyribonucleotide composition for in vivo activity. The results will reveal the extent this in silico method succeeded in CRE identification. For the validated CREs, we will elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which they similarly control gene expression, and whether they evolved in route to the gain, loss, and modification of male-specific abdomen pigmentation. The encoding of information in CREs is a universal feature of life, so these results bear upon life at every level.

Publication Date

4-22-2020

Project Designation

Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor

Tom M. Williams

Primary Advisor's Department

Biology

Keywords

Stander Symposium project, College of Arts and Sciences

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being

Finding the switches that activate animal genes through a combined in silico and in vivo approach

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