Genes

Growth Regulating Factors (GFRs) Functions

jpark189 CURE Projects, Spring 2020 , , , ,

Class: BIOL 0440 – Inquiry in Plant Biology: Analysis of Plant Growth, Reproduction and Adaptive Responses

Instructor(s): Dr. Alison DeLong, Dr. Mark A Johnson

Student(s): Galen Tiong (Biology ScB ’20), Henry Dawson, Nicholas Moreno, Leane Pajot

Description: 

Growth regulating factors (GRFs) are known to regulate leaf size in plants in general, but little is known how different GRFs work in tandem with one another. Using bioinformatic tools, we analyze RNAseq data collected from different GRF mutants and examine which genes are differentially expressed (DEGs) as well as the overlap in regulation of gene expression among different mutants. We found a sizable DEG overlap between GRF mutants suggesting that GRF1 and GRF3 regulate expression in the same direction, whereas GRF2 might work as a negative regulator of GRF1. Our analyses also highlighted several genes of interest (e.g. PEPC1, GASA14) that could be direct targets of growth regulation and potential leads for future research into GRF function.

Differential Gene Expression of Stressed and Unstressed Cultivars of Solanum lycopersicum

jpark189 CURE Projects, Spring 2020 , , ,

Class: BIOL 0440 – Inquiry in Plant Biology: Analysis of Plant Growth, Reproduction and Adaptive Responses

Instructor(s): Dr. Alison DeLong, Dr. Mark A Johnson

Student(s): Thomas Murphy, Paige Lind, Ryan Chaffee

Affiliated Faculty and Collaborators: Ann Loraine (UNC-Charlotte), Kelly Pan, Sorel Ouonkap Yimga

“We learned that genes could themselves be different while doing the same thing, and example of convergent evolution.”

-Student 

Description: 

What do the patterns of differential gene expression between heat unstressed and stressed conditions for thermosensitive and thermotolerant cultivars of Solanum lycopersicum reveal about their heat stress responses? Using R code developed by thermotolerance Ann Loraine and with help from other collaborator, a list was generated of genes demonstrating significant differential expression between the control and heat stress groups for each cultivar. There is a high degree of overlap between the Malintka and Tamaulipas cultivars and less overlap for the Nagcarlang group with either of the other thermotolerant cultivars. Transport regulation, protein refolding, and potentially transcription are aspects of Nagcarlang’s unique response to heat stress. “Unique” in this context does not necessarily refer to the molecular mechanisms as being chemically dissimilar, but rather, that the expressed loci employed to produce these responses are different from Malintka and Tamaulipas.