Major
Biology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2027
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
The biological process known as spermatogenesis is how sperm cells develop. Our study looks at the role of the short stop (shot) protein, which encodes a spectraplakin protein involved in regulating microtubules and actin. Shot’s function in Drosophila ovaries is well-known, but its role in spermatogenesis remains unexplored. Given the importance of microtubules and actin in sperm maturation, we believe that Shot coordinates their activity in the testes. To research this, we reduced Shot protein levels in testes somatic cells using RNA interference (RNAi) and GAL4/UAS system. By crossing tj-Gal4 flies with UAS-shot-RNAi flies, we can examine the effects of reduced Shot levels in spermatogenesis. The testes dissected, fixed, immunostained, and imaged using confocal microscopy to see the impact of Shot reduction on spermatogenesis. Preliminary data suggests that a decrease in Shot protein negatively affects sperm development. However, future studies must be conducted to prove this further.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Jennifer Mierisch
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
The Role of Shot in Spermatogenesis
The biological process known as spermatogenesis is how sperm cells develop. Our study looks at the role of the short stop (shot) protein, which encodes a spectraplakin protein involved in regulating microtubules and actin. Shot’s function in Drosophila ovaries is well-known, but its role in spermatogenesis remains unexplored. Given the importance of microtubules and actin in sperm maturation, we believe that Shot coordinates their activity in the testes. To research this, we reduced Shot protein levels in testes somatic cells using RNA interference (RNAi) and GAL4/UAS system. By crossing tj-Gal4 flies with UAS-shot-RNAi flies, we can examine the effects of reduced Shot levels in spermatogenesis. The testes dissected, fixed, immunostained, and imaged using confocal microscopy to see the impact of Shot reduction on spermatogenesis. Preliminary data suggests that a decrease in Shot protein negatively affects sperm development. However, future studies must be conducted to prove this further.