A Biological Approach for Obtaining Quantitative Data to Mathematically Model Transcriptional Regulation in Drosophila melanogaster
Date
2015-05-30
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
Understanding the genetic control of development is both important
and exciting because it has the potential to lead us to revolutionary discoveries
that could provide advancements in numerous fields such as molecular
biology, immunology, and the study of transcriptionally related diseases such
as HPV. Drosophila melanogaster is a widely used animal model for studying
the biological processes of development. It has a rapid maturation process and
produces many offspring, making them easy to observe, especially during
development. Early stages in Drosophila development and other multicellular
organisms include critical events that lead to the differentiation of cells and
eventually proper tissue and organ development in the adult stage. A complex
network of genes, transcription factors and cis-regulatory modules controls
these events. These modules could provide very important information about
To determine the mechanisms underlying regulation of gene
transcription, other investigators take apart predicted enhancer and
transcription factor binding sites (a top-down model). In contrast, I am
attempting to build from the bottom-up using a mathematical approach. I am
using 10 different DNA constructs that were designed to represent single
activator binding sites, as well as activator and repressor binding site pairs.
My approach involves using MATLAB, along with basic biological
assumptions and predictions, to model these complex binding events. The
ultimate goal of this project is to create a model that can be used to compare
biologically obtained data. Using this data we can then refine the
mathematical model to more accurately represent transcription factor binding
in the early stages of D. melanogaster.
Description
Keywords
activator, enhancer, transcriptional regulation, transcription, Drosophila melanogaster