Long-Term Biological Consequences of Blm-Deficiency During Early Embryonic Development in Drosophila Melanogaster
Additional Funding Sources
This project is supported by a 2019-2020 STEM Undergraduate Research Grant from the Higher Education Research Council. The project described was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Grant No. P20GM103408.
Presentation Date
7-2020
Abstract
During the early stages of Drosophila embryogenesis, maternally loaded Blm DNA helicase is essential for proper DNA replication; embryos from Blm mutant females, who fail to provision Blm to their eggs, accumulate DNA damage and most do not survive this early developmental period. Despite this severe maternal effect lethality, a small percentage of embryos do survive in the absence of Blm. However, we hypothesize that survivors of this Blm-null embryonic environment experience sub-lethal DNA damage that may pose long-term biological consequences, such as reductions in size, locomotor activity, fertility, and lifespan. To test these hypotheses, adult flies that developed with or without Blm during early stages of development will be compared. We have determined that flies that develop without Blm have a reduced lifespan compared to those that develop with Blm. This data implicates Blm in preventing lasting biological impacts which may be caused by DNA damage accumulation during early development.
Long-Term Biological Consequences of Blm-Deficiency During Early Embryonic Development in Drosophila Melanogaster
During the early stages of Drosophila embryogenesis, maternally loaded Blm DNA helicase is essential for proper DNA replication; embryos from Blm mutant females, who fail to provision Blm to their eggs, accumulate DNA damage and most do not survive this early developmental period. Despite this severe maternal effect lethality, a small percentage of embryos do survive in the absence of Blm. However, we hypothesize that survivors of this Blm-null embryonic environment experience sub-lethal DNA damage that may pose long-term biological consequences, such as reductions in size, locomotor activity, fertility, and lifespan. To test these hypotheses, adult flies that developed with or without Blm during early stages of development will be compared. We have determined that flies that develop without Blm have a reduced lifespan compared to those that develop with Blm. This data implicates Blm in preventing lasting biological impacts which may be caused by DNA damage accumulation during early development.