Project Title
Identification and characterization of Hedgehog pathway proteins in the tardigrade species Hypsibius exemplaris.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
10-5-2019 3:30 PM
End Date
10-5-2019 6:30 PM
Description
The Hedgehog signaling pathway transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. It is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that has critical roles in embryonic development. The pathway was originally discovered and studied in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is also present in Caenorhabditis elegans, and vertebrates, and its role in all three of these is similar. Since Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans and Hypsibius exemplaris are all part of the Ecdyscozoans superphylum, tardigrades are being developed as a model organism to explain the evolution of the pathway. This project addresses two questions: is the hedgehog pathway present in Hypsibius exemplaris? How did it evolve in Ecdyscozoans? Based on what is known about the pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, a list of hedgehog related genes was created. The presence of these genes in the tardigrade genome was first verified using bioinformatic tools. These tools were then used to construct a phylogenetic tree proposing an evolutionary model for the pathway. These genes will then be amplified from tardigrade genomic and complementary DNA using a polymerase chain reaction, to confirm whether or not they are expressed. This study will be the first to provide evidence of the presence of a functional hedgehog pathway in tardigrades. Moreover, it will not only be valuable when trying to explain the evolution of hedgehog, but it may also provide a new perspective in understanding germline development.
Discipline
Biology
Research Mentor(s)
Jenny Tenlen
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author(s).
Identification and characterization of Hedgehog pathway proteins in the tardigrade species Hypsibius exemplaris.
The Hedgehog signaling pathway transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. It is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that has critical roles in embryonic development. The pathway was originally discovered and studied in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is also present in Caenorhabditis elegans, and vertebrates, and its role in all three of these is similar. Since Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans and Hypsibius exemplaris are all part of the Ecdyscozoans superphylum, tardigrades are being developed as a model organism to explain the evolution of the pathway. This project addresses two questions: is the hedgehog pathway present in Hypsibius exemplaris? How did it evolve in Ecdyscozoans? Based on what is known about the pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, a list of hedgehog related genes was created. The presence of these genes in the tardigrade genome was first verified using bioinformatic tools. These tools were then used to construct a phylogenetic tree proposing an evolutionary model for the pathway. These genes will then be amplified from tardigrade genomic and complementary DNA using a polymerase chain reaction, to confirm whether or not they are expressed. This study will be the first to provide evidence of the presence of a functional hedgehog pathway in tardigrades. Moreover, it will not only be valuable when trying to explain the evolution of hedgehog, but it may also provide a new perspective in understanding germline development.
Rights Statement
