Major
Biology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2021
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
The evolution of biological pathways can be studied through the analysis of gene transcription. To understand the functions of biological pathways, such as the insulin- signaling pathway, it is vital to first understand the specific genes and proteins that regulate insulin release. We worked in conjunction with the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) to annotate the widerborst gene which encodes a B’ regulatory subunit of the serine/ threonine phosphate complex PP2A in the insulin- signaling pathway in Drosophila simulans. The long-term goal of this project is to investigate how the regulatory regions of genes evolve in regards to their positions within a network and conduct analyses on other biological pathways in the future. Drosophila serves as an excellent model organism to study the evolution of the genes that are responsible for regulating these pathways. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a reference species allowed us to create a custom gene model for wdb in Drosophila simulans. We inspected the genomic neighborhood of the widerborst gene in Drosophila melanogaster and compared it to the genomic neighborhood of Drosophila simulans. Additionally, we annotated the coding sequences (CDS) of wdb and refined these coordinates to create our model. It is crucial for humans to be involved in the annotation process because the algorithms of the genome browser are unable to accurately predict this type of meticulous data. This data will contribute to developing a better understanding of evolution and the function of genes in different species of Drosophila in the insulin- signaling pathway.
Community Partners
Genomics Education Partnership
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Jennifer Mierisch, Biology
Supported By
Genomics Education Partnership
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Gene Annotation of wdb in Drosophila simulans
The evolution of biological pathways can be studied through the analysis of gene transcription. To understand the functions of biological pathways, such as the insulin- signaling pathway, it is vital to first understand the specific genes and proteins that regulate insulin release. We worked in conjunction with the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) to annotate the widerborst gene which encodes a B’ regulatory subunit of the serine/ threonine phosphate complex PP2A in the insulin- signaling pathway in Drosophila simulans. The long-term goal of this project is to investigate how the regulatory regions of genes evolve in regards to their positions within a network and conduct analyses on other biological pathways in the future. Drosophila serves as an excellent model organism to study the evolution of the genes that are responsible for regulating these pathways. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a reference species allowed us to create a custom gene model for wdb in Drosophila simulans. We inspected the genomic neighborhood of the widerborst gene in Drosophila melanogaster and compared it to the genomic neighborhood of Drosophila simulans. Additionally, we annotated the coding sequences (CDS) of wdb and refined these coordinates to create our model. It is crucial for humans to be involved in the annotation process because the algorithms of the genome browser are unable to accurately predict this type of meticulous data. This data will contribute to developing a better understanding of evolution and the function of genes in different species of Drosophila in the insulin- signaling pathway.