CAREER: Use of C. Elegans to Identify Alleles and Genotypes that Modulate Severe Anoxia Survival

环境压力是生活中的一个事实，因为所有生物体都暴露在不断变化的条件下。生物显然已经适应了感知和生存环境变化的能力，但如果环境压力延长或过于严重，生物的生存能力就会受到损害。初步数据支持缺氧生存至少部分依赖于胰岛素样信号通路（daf-2/daf-16）的观点。本研究的中心假设是胰岛素样信号通路调节了导致严重缺氧生存的特定基因。使用模型系统秀丽隐杆线虫的遗传方法，将用于识别导致缺氧生存的特定等位基因。以下内容将被识别和分析：抗长期缺氧的基因突变，暴露于缺氧的生物体特定组织中的基因表达谱，以及特定器官和组织在缺氧反应和生存中的作用。这些研究将开始在遗传水平上解释为什么一些生物体或组织对缺氧的抵抗力更强。拟议的教育活动侧重于为Elm Fork教育中心（EFEC）的本科遗传学实验课程和现有的k -7年级科学课程开发基于发现的课程。这些课程的发展将使学生积极参与科学发现的过程，获得更好的成就感，并促进对科学教育的兴趣。EFEC是一个全国知名的、高度创新的、以探究为基础的科学教育项目，参与该项目将使成千上万的学生接触到科学发现。

Environmental stress is a fact of life, in that all organisms are exposed to ever changing conditions. Organisms have clearly adapted the capacity to sense and survive changes within their environment, yet if the environmental stress is either prolonged or too severe, the viability of the organism is compromised. Preliminary data supports the idea that oxygen deprivation survival is dependent, at least in part, on the insulin-like signaling pathway (daf-2/daf-16). The central hypothesis of this grant is that the insulin-like signaling pathway modulates specific genes that confer severe anoxia survival. A genetic approach using the model system C. elegans, will be used to identify specific alleles that lead to oxygen deprivation survival. The following will be identified and analyzed: genetic mutants that are resistant to long-term anoxia, gene expression profiles in specific tissues of organisms exposed to oxygen deprivation and the role specific organs and tissue have in response to and survival of oxygen deprivation. These studies will begin to explain, at the genetic level, why some organisms or tissues are more resistant to oxygen deprivation. The proposed educational activities focus on development of discovery-based lessons for the undergraduate genetics lab course and the existing K-7th grade science program at Elm Fork Education Center (EFEC). The development of these lessons will allow students to be actively involved in the process of scientific discovery, gain a better sense of accomplishment, and promote an increased interest in science education. The involvement in the EFEC, a nationally known, highly innovative, inquiry-based science education program will expose thousands of students to scientific discovery.