Folic Acid Metabolism in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Undergraduate #17
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Cell and Molecular Biology
Session: 3
Room: Harding

Raquel Scott - Southern University at New Orleans
Co-Author(s): Dr. Jessica Sullivan-Brown, West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania.

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Neural tube defects are birth defects that occur when the neural tube does not close properly in the beginning stages of gestation. The brain and spinal cord are exposed to the outside of the body if this defect occurs. The incomplete closure can cause serious problems for babies, including death. It has been studied that added levels of the B-vitamin folic acid has been associated with lowering the risks of neural tube defects. Folic acid is used in every cell in the body for normal growth and development. We used the roundworm C. elegans as a simple model system of development. C. elegans are transparent with similar genes and cellular processes as humans. In our research, we added increasing levels of Thymidine in hopes that the embryonic lethality in folic acid metabolism deficient worms would be decreased. Thymidine is a nucleotide that pairs with Adenine in the DNA molecule. We recognized that by adding increased levels of Thymidine into the mutant worms that it showed no significant difference in the embryonic lethality.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jessica Sullivan-Brown, jsullivan-brown@wcupa.edu

Role: I tested the methods of Thymidine effects on embryonic lethality in mutated C. elegans worms. With my portion of the research, I was trying test the difference in adding the extra nucleotides in the worms will allow the cell division to progress at a more normal rate.