Generation of CG3509 mutant allele(s) by p-element excision in Drosophila melanogaster.

• Main Author: Wong, Joyner Yin Sze.
• Other Authors: School of Biological Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/49290
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Germline stem cells (GSCs) are adult stem cells known for their ability to produce differentiating gametes that give rise to the next generation. Previous whole-genome microarray expression analysis of Drosophila testis identified the CG3509 gene as a novel candidate stem cell regulator. So far, no studies involving CG3509 have been reported. Thus, little is known about CG3509 and its functions in development. To ask what biological functions of CG3509 are during developmental stages, the generation of a loss-of function-allele is required. In this project, I used the P-element excision approach to generate 530 independent excisions of P-element located in 5’untranslated region (UTR) of CG3509. From the 530 independent excisions, I identified one potential CG3509 mutant with a deletion of 169 nucleotides in the intergenic region and 5’UTR without affecting its start codon. The effect of this mutation on CG3509 expression level remains to be tested. Furthermore, I performed immunostaining in wild-type Drosophila embryos with anti-CG3509 antibody newly generated in the laboratory and observed CG3509 signal in the nuclei of both somatic and germline stem cells. However, the specificity of CG3509 staining remains to be tested with the CG3509 loss-of-fuction allele.