March 4, 2016
Genetic Structure of the Invasive Bluegill Sunfish on the Korean Peninsula
Kyle Schneider '16
Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), was introduced to Korea and Japan from a Guttenburg, Iowa population. L. macrochirus was first released into the wilds of Japan from a population of 15. It then was introduced to Korea as a game fish. From there, they have come to thrive in all of the freshwater systems in both countries, even leading some native species to extinction (Kawamura et. al., 2006). It is curious that the species survived its introduction into a new environment twice without large introduction populations. To learn more about how this invasive species has survived, this research aimed to show migration rates among the populations of L. macrochirus in South Korea and to hypothesize an initial introduction population from the seven populations sampled from using microsatellites in the DNA. The goal of this research is to increase the understanding of introduced species in order to help further research on the species done by colleagues at Yeungnam University in South Korea. The results show that the populations are each genetically diverse within and between populations. A possible second location of introduction has been narrowed down to populations DY, CL, and SD.
Exploring the Effects of CUL3 Gene Knockout in Human Colon Cancer
Andrea Smock '16
Until recently, research and development of cancer treatments have relied heavily on designation of cancer types based on the type of tissue they are found in (brain, liver, etc.). However, current understanding of cancer suggests that treatment based upon the specific genetic alterations found in the tumor is often more effective therapeutically. The purpose of this study was to examine the function of the CUL3 gene within human colon cancer cells. Five genetically distinct CUL3 knockout cell lines were studied. Sequencing of the CUL3 gene within these cell lines revealed that one line (named 1FN1) contained a heterozygous knockout while the other four lines contained homozygous knockouts. To determine the functional consequence of CUL3 knockout, population growth rates were established for each knockout cell line as well as for the HCT116 parental line. All four homozygous knockout lines showed significant growth rate differences compared to the parental line while the 1FN1 heterozygous knockout line showed no significant differences. These data suggest that just one functional copy of CUL3 may be enough to protect against the phenotypic changes observed in the homozygous knockout lines.This study supports the hypothesis that CUL3 plays an important role in directing growth and reproductive traits within human colon cancer, and suggests that cancer researchers may be able to develop drugs that manipulate CUL3 function (in tumors with CUL3 mutations) as an effective targeted therapy.
