Date of Defense

12-9-2016

Date of Graduation

12-2016

Department

Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Don Kane

Second Advisor

Rachel Warga

Keywords

speedbump, wee1, mitotic index

Abstract

The speedbump mutant has been identified as an early arrest mutant, becoming apparent as soon as 80% epiboly (8.5 hours of development). This mutant has a mutation in wee1, which is a protein regulating entry into mitosis ensuring the completion of DNA replication before mitosis. The lack of this protein in speedbump allows for early entry into mitosis resulting in damage to the chromosome. Here, we investigate two questions: if mitosis in the speedbump mutant phenotype is more frequent than wild-type phenotype, and, if so, is there a phase in which the mutant phenotype favors. We used phosphorylated histone H3 antibody staining to visualize an increase of mitotic figures in the mutant embryo compared to their wild-type siblings at both 80% epiboly (8.5 hours of development) and 2 somites (10.5 hours of development) meaning there is more mitosis in speedbump and mitosis may also be longer. Lastly, we found no indication of speedbump favoring a phase when compared to wild-type.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

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