Poster abstracts
Poster number 59 submitted by Brittany Suggs
Understanding the role of FACT during early C. elegans development
Brittany Suggs (Molecular Genetics)
Abstract:
The FACT (Facilitates Chromatin Transcription) complex is known to be involved the chromatin remodeling processes 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. 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 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: embryogenesis, FACT