Wonderful question! As stated in my presentation, we were exploring the expression of one particular gene, WD40, after DNA is damaged in the organism T. thermophila. WD40 might be part of a DNA repair mechanism that is extremely efficient in T. thermophila and if we can understand it, we may be able to apply that to our DNA one day. This is great for reducing the possibility of developing diseases like cancer.
Our primers would likely have been similar in their response as the others! That is to say, the damaged cell our primer would have been used on would have increased expression of the WD40 gene.
We did not use it because of time constraints and expenses! We already had the primers of assured annealment but would have had to order more of SophMoron. Sacrifices had to be made.
In your future directions, you discussed performing a Western Blot. What does this procedure entail and why is that significant in finding out more information about the Wd40 gene?
To further elaborate, we would be creating a wester blot but we would also be adding some tools of analysis. There are different kinds of PCRs that offer more and different analysis of the experimental materials. I want to use q-RT-PCR to further breakdown the composition and timeline of our experiment. This would allow us to see when the DNA degrades, when the WD40 responds, and what else might be reacting.
What is the difference between the PCR experiments described in your future directions section and the PCR experiments you already did as a part of your research project?
There are really 2 more types of PCR that would be applicable when furthering out understanding of these results. The one I really want to run is q-RT-PCR. That is a quantitative version of PCR that can allow us a greater look into the composition of this reaction so we can find other proteins and molecules in our experiment. Another kind is a Real Time PCR which would allow us to see a timeline of events as DNA is damaged. This is important for us to rule out extraneous mechanisms and molecules and prove that WD40 really is important to fixing DNA.
What was your main overarching goal of this study and why is it so impactful to scientists today?
Wonderful question! As stated in my presentation, we were exploring the expression of one particular gene, WD40, after DNA is damaged in the organism T. thermophila. WD40 might be part of a DNA repair mechanism that is extremely efficient in T. thermophila and if we can understand it, we may be able to apply that to our DNA one day. This is great for reducing the possibility of developing diseases like cancer.
What would the results have been with the primers you guys created and why weren’t they used in the final experiment?
Our primers would likely have been similar in their response as the others! That is to say, the damaged cell our primer would have been used on would have increased expression of the WD40 gene.
We did not use it because of time constraints and expenses! We already had the primers of assured annealment but would have had to order more of SophMoron. Sacrifices had to be made.
In your future directions, you discussed performing a Western Blot. What does this procedure entail and why is that significant in finding out more information about the Wd40 gene?
To further elaborate, we would be creating a wester blot but we would also be adding some tools of analysis. There are different kinds of PCRs that offer more and different analysis of the experimental materials. I want to use q-RT-PCR to further breakdown the composition and timeline of our experiment. This would allow us to see when the DNA degrades, when the WD40 responds, and what else might be reacting.
What is the difference between the PCR experiments described in your future directions section and the PCR experiments you already did as a part of your research project?
There are really 2 more types of PCR that would be applicable when furthering out understanding of these results. The one I really want to run is q-RT-PCR. That is a quantitative version of PCR that can allow us a greater look into the composition of this reaction so we can find other proteins and molecules in our experiment. Another kind is a Real Time PCR which would allow us to see a timeline of events as DNA is damaged. This is important for us to rule out extraneous mechanisms and molecules and prove that WD40 really is important to fixing DNA.