Poster abstracts
Poster number 56 submitted by Brittany Suggs
Understanding the Role of the FACT Complex during Early C. elegans Deveolpment
Brittany Suggs (The Ohio State University), Helen Chamberlin (The Ohio State University)
Abstract:
The FACT (Facilitates Chromatin Transcription) complex is known to be involved the chromatin remodeling process during gene transcription, DNA repair and replication. Two proteins comprise this complex: SSRP1 and SPT16. We are focusing on the functions of this complex in influencing gene transcription that are well characterized in yeast, but less well understood in the development of multicellular organisms. In particular, we aim to understand how this complex functions in both maintaining the undifferentiated state of stem cells as well as in promoting cell differentiation during development. We have found that a double RNAi knockdown of HMG-3 and HMG-4, the orthologs for SSRP1, as well as RNAi against F55A3.3, the SPT16 ortholog, causes high levels of embryonic lethality in C. elegans. Surprisingly, as FACT has is believed to be widely expressed and knockdown is cell-lethal in mouse embryos, the phenotype shows a very specific requirement for the complex during early embryogenesis: when either component is absent, the anterior pharynx fails to form. We aim to determine when in pharyngeal development FACT is needed and which of its functions is necessary to ensure proper development of the anterior pharynx.
Keywords: FACT Complex, cell differentiation, C elegans