We were expecting an upregulation since the gene expression changes throughout conjugation, however rather than just staying the same the gene was suppressed. Its not necessarily an unlikely result its just not what we were looking for.
The gene was assigned because it demonstrated a change of some sort in its expression during conjugation, since Tetrahymena cut up their DNA during conjugation, this means that the cell will also express its genes that repair the DNA. So the gene played a role in the cells conjugation but it was not known if it played a role in the DNA repair part of conjugation.
Not 100% sure but any gene that codes for a regulatory protein that is responsible for suppressing DNA repair proteins when no damage is present would block the DNA damage repair process.
A good way to determine if this gene has a n effect on DNA repair would be to flood the system with the protein this gene codes for and see what happens, if the cell lives than the gene likely has no effect on DNA repair but if it dies the gene may be responsible for inhibiting DNA repair.
Can you explain why down regulation was a surprising or unexpected result of your research?
We were expecting an upregulation since the gene expression changes throughout conjugation, however rather than just staying the same the gene was suppressed. Its not necessarily an unlikely result its just not what we were looking for.
What made you choose this specific gene for study?
The gene was assigned because it demonstrated a change of some sort in its expression during conjugation, since Tetrahymena cut up their DNA during conjugation, this means that the cell will also express its genes that repair the DNA. So the gene played a role in the cells conjugation but it was not known if it played a role in the DNA repair part of conjugation.
What type of genes would deteriorate or block the process of the DNA damage repair process?
Not 100% sure but any gene that codes for a regulatory protein that is responsible for suppressing DNA repair proteins when no damage is present would block the DNA damage repair process.
With the uncertain reasoning behind your results, what specific test could you do to confirm a specific reasoning behind the down regulation?
A good way to determine if this gene has a n effect on DNA repair would be to flood the system with the protein this gene codes for and see what happens, if the cell lives than the gene likely has no effect on DNA repair but if it dies the gene may be responsible for inhibiting DNA repair.