Determining the Causes of the tbcd-1(RNAi) Phenotype in Caenorhabditis elegans Embryos

Maggie J. White
Dr. Stephanie Maiden, Faculty Mentor

Microtubules are responsible for cell division, transportation, and structure, and thus have been linked to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Microtubule formation and function are controlled by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), which differ in quantity and type within specialized cells. This study focuses on determining the effects of a specific MAP, TBCD-1, on microtubules within epidermal cells of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. The known organization of microtubules in C. elegans embryos indicates that microtubules possibly interact with the adhesion proteins critical for epidermis formation and embryo morphogenesis. To determine if this interaction exists and might be regulated by TBCD-1, feeding RNA Interference was used to knockdown TBCD-1 in worms that also express fluorescently tagged adhesion proteins. Subsequent confocal microscopy of C. elegans embryos allowed us to visualize changes to these adhesion proteins’ localization and expression resulting from the knockdown.

Keywords: Developmental Biology, Cellular Biology

Topic(s):Biology

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA