The goal of this course is to teach both the fundamentals of …
The goal of this course is to teach both the fundamentals of nuclear cell biology as well as the methodological and experimental approaches upon which they are based. Lectures and class discussions will cover the background and fundamental findings in a particular area of nuclear cell biology. The assigned readings will provide concrete examples of the experimental approaches and logic used to establish these findings. Some examples of topics include genome and systems biology, transcription, and gene expression.
The course applies molecular biology and reverse genetics approaches to the study …
The course applies molecular biology and reverse genetics approaches to the study of apoptosis, or programmed cell death (PCD), in Drosophila cells. RNA interference (RNAi), or double stranded RNA-mediated gene silencing, will be used to inhibit expression of candidate apoptosis-related genes in cultured Drosophila cells. Teams of 2 or 3 students will design and carry out experiments to address questions about the genes involved in the regulation and execution of PCD in this system. Some projects involve the use of DNA damaging agents or other cytotoxic chemicals or drugs to help understand the pathways that control a cell's decision to undergo apoptosis. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication are provided.
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by …
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:
"Biodiesel from plant oils could be the fuel of the future, but the low quality of certain plant oils means that getting there will take some engineering. So, researchers are turning to genetics for a solution. They’ve developed a transgenic soybean line that could dramatically increase biodiesel performance. Biodiesel performance relies on the fatty acid composition of the source oil. On average, soybean oil is only 25% oleic acid, which is a desirable monounsaturated fatty acid, and 13% palmitic acid, an undesirable saturated fatty acid. This fatty acid profile negatively affects biodiesel’s rate of nitrogen oxide emission and freezing point. Through metabolic engineering, the soybean genes FAD2-1 and FatB were down-regulated using RNA interference technology to increase the production of oleic acid to nearly 95% and decrease the production of palmitic acid to less than 3%, with no detectable differences in the fatty acid chemical structure between modified and standard soybean lines..."
The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by …
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:
"Cardiac fibrosis is tissue scarring that typically follows a heart attack. Growing evidence suggests that this scarring process is mediated by RGS proteins, multifunctional regulators of cell signaling. To better understand how, researchers examined the effects of RGS4, both on in vitro and in vivo models of heart attack. All models showed elevated levels of RGS4, linking the protein to cardiac fibrosis. Silencing RGS4 through RNA interference proved capable of reducing cardiac fibrosis in vitro and in mice. But when overexpressed, RGS4 could counteract the protective effects of choline, a nutrient found in meat that has been shown to reduce cardiac fibrosis. Further experiments revealed that RGS4 exerts its pro-cardiac fibrosis effects through TGFβ1/Smad and MAPK signaling. Future studies will examine how RGS4 interacts with similar proteins to cause cardiac fibrosis, which could lead to new ways of combating the harmful after-effects of heart attack..."
The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by …
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:
"RNA interference (RNAi), a popular technique for gene silencing using double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), can be used to manage insect pests. Once eaten by insects, the dsRNAs target specific genes to reduce growth or cause death. Multiple factors affect RNAi efficiency, but it’s unknown if the gut microbiota, which encounters the ingested dsRNAs in the gastrointestinal tract, is a factor. A recent study investigated the effects of RNAi on a major tree pest, the willow leaf beetle, and explored the influence of the microbiome with molecular biology techniques. The ingested targeted dsRNAs were highly lethal to non-axenic beetles (with gut microbes) but were less lethal to axenic (microbe-free) beetles despite equivalent gene-silencing effects. All dsRNAs altered the microbiota composition and induced overgrowth of gut bacteria, especially Enterobacter and Pseudomonas, perhaps in part because their degradation provided food for the bacteria..."
The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.
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