I was assigned my target gene, but the reason it was considered is because its activity significantly increases during conjugation, which is a process that involves double stranded DNA breaks, so it was possible that its expression could be related to repair of those breaks.
We initially hypothesised it to be a component of the DNA repair process, however, based on our findings that its activity actually decreases in the presence of DNA breakage, it seems unlikely that the protein it produces is related to the DNA repair process. Hypedc3’s gene expression would probably increase in the presence of DNA damage if it were actually related to the DNA repair process.
We don’t know. It doesn’t have any known domains or homologues, making it hard to predict what function it actually performs based on what data currently exists. Further experimentation is necessary to determine if it does serve any purpose.
With the expression of HypedC3 not linked to DNA damage and thus not being part of the repair mechanisms T. thermophila utilises, do you have any theories as to what its function may be?
Honestly I do not, I’d really like to see the result of a gene knockout experiment. It’s probably relevant to conjugation so I suspect that a knockout will result in an impairment to the reproductive cycle.
curesymposium.org 
What was the purpose behind testing cDNA instead of just the mRNA?
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The mRNA is reverse-transcribed into cDNA because mRNA cannot be run through PCR.
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What made you pick your target gene in the first place? Was there a hypothesis that it was indeed involved in DNA damage repair?
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I was assigned my target gene, but the reason it was considered is because its activity significantly increases during conjugation, which is a process that involves double stranded DNA breaks, so it was possible that its expression could be related to repair of those breaks.
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What made you choose the target gene in the first place? Was it hypothesized to have a role in DNA damage repair?
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What made you pick this gene in the first place? Was it hypothesized to have a role in DNA damage repair?
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How is HypedC3 no longer part of the DNA repair process?
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We initially hypothesised it to be a component of the DNA repair process, however, based on our findings that its activity actually decreases in the presence of DNA breakage, it seems unlikely that the protein it produces is related to the DNA repair process. Hypedc3’s gene expression would probably increase in the presence of DNA damage if it were actually related to the DNA repair process.
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Does Hypedc3 do anything at all?
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We don’t know. It doesn’t have any known domains or homologues, making it hard to predict what function it actually performs based on what data currently exists. Further experimentation is necessary to determine if it does serve any purpose.
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With the expression of HypedC3 not linked to DNA damage and thus not being part of the repair mechanisms T. thermophila utilises, do you have any theories as to what its function may be?
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Honestly I do not, I’d really like to see the result of a gene knockout experiment. It’s probably relevant to conjugation so I suspect that a knockout will result in an impairment to the reproductive cycle.
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