Lewis and Clark Department of Biology
Research
Students in my lab are studying the biogenesis of a lysosome-related organelle called the gut granule during organogenesis of the C. elegans intestine. Lysosome-related organelles comprise a varied group of cellular compartments that include melanosomes, pigment granules, and lytic granules. Interestingly, they each have unique contents and functions while sharing significant overall similarity to the conventional lysosome. We are interested in how these diverse organelles are generated. To this end, we are identifying and studying the function of genes (called glo for gut granule loss) that are necessary for the formation of gut granules in C. elegans using a genetic approach. The study of these genes will allow us to reconstruct the pathway of gut granule assembly. Ultimately, comparison of this pathway with the biogenesis pathways used by other lysosome-related organelles will allow us to determine whether shared or novel mechansims are used in the construction of these important organelles.
Students in my BIO361 Cell Biology Lab have studied a monoclonal antibody (F2-P3E3) that recognizes cells undergoing apoptosis during C. elegans embryogenesis. Apoptosis is a normal cellular program that consists of an ordered series of events that culminate in cell suicide. Defects in apoptosis are correlated with cancer progression and apoptosis is implicated in HIV and Alzheimer disease. Therefore increased understanding of apoptosis will have profound consequences for the treatment of human disease. C. elegans has emerged as the leading model system for identifying and characterizing the pathway of apoptosis. Recent studies have revealed that the pathway discovered in C. elegans is conserved in nearly all multicellular animals. Studies in C. elegans have relied mainly on genetic screens which have a number of limitations in identifying important apoptotic factors. To circumvent these limitations, we have taken an alternative approach to identify factors associated with apoptosis. We have isolated and are characterizing a monoclonal antibody that binds to apoptotic cells. This antibody represents an important and novel tool for the study of apoptosis in C. elegans and ultimately the identification of the epitope it binds may lead to the identification of a new apoptotic factor.