Presenter(s)

    Logan Brubaker, Hayley Long, Allison Pavlus

    Comments

    10:45-12:00, Kennedy Union Ballroom

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    Description

    Spatially- and temporally-regulated patterns of gene expression are an essential feature of animal development. Moreover, changes in expression patterns are known to underlie cases of evolution and disease. These expression patterns are sculpted by the activity of sequences often referred to as cis-regulatory elements or CREs. The collective number of CREs in a typical metazoan genome greatly exceed the number of genes. However, even in the most thoroughly studied animals, like Drosophila (D.) melanogaster, most CREs remain to be found and/or characterized. We previously used a small set of known CREs that function in a gene regulatory network (GRN) for the sexually dimorphic pigmentation of D. melanogaster to predict additional CREs genome-wide. Using the transcription factor motif-blind SCRM-shaw bioinformatic tool, more than 500 potential pigmentation GRN CREs were predicted. Here, we share our findings that are part of a follow-up study that focused on CRE predictions residing in or near to regulatory genes, including those populated by multiple predicted CREs. This includes the ten CRE predictions distributed across the Eip74EF locus. In addition to furthering an understanding of the evolution and development of a fruit fly trait, the results and future studies may shed light on the expression control of regulatory genes and its evolution.

    Publication Date

    4-23-2025

    Project Designation

    Course Project - BIO 421 02

    Primary Advisor

    Tom M. Williams

    Primary Advisor's Department

    Biology

    Keywords

    Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

    Institutional Learning Goals

    Scholarship; Practical Wisdom; Vocation

    Combining bioinformatic and transgenic approaches to better understand the regulatory control of genes for a Drosophila pigmentation trait

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