Event Title
The Role of JNK in the Cleavage-Stage Development of Sea Urchin Embryos
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Margaret Peeler
Start Date
23-4-2019 4:00 PM
End Date
23-4-2019 5:00 PM
Description
Fertilization results in the rapid conversion of the egg from a non-dividing cell to an actively dividing zygote. We have been studying the role of a MAPK, c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in activating the cell cycle in the fertilized sea urchin egg. Varying concentrations of the JNK-specific inhibitor SP600125 (0-5uM) were added to cultures immediately following fertilization and the number of embryos successfully progressing through the cell cycle to the 2-cell stage was determined. NucBlue was used to visualize the nuclei of the embryos, we observed multiple (2 or 4) nuclei in a small percentage of the inhibited embryos, suggesting that cytokinesis was inhibited but not nuclear division in these eggs. We are exploring the impact of JNK inhibition on specific steps required for successful division, including spindle formation, DNA replication, and cleavage furrow formation in order to determine the specific steps that require JNK activity.
The Role of JNK in the Cleavage-Stage Development of Sea Urchin Embryos
Fertilization results in the rapid conversion of the egg from a non-dividing cell to an actively dividing zygote. We have been studying the role of a MAPK, c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in activating the cell cycle in the fertilized sea urchin egg. Varying concentrations of the JNK-specific inhibitor SP600125 (0-5uM) were added to cultures immediately following fertilization and the number of embryos successfully progressing through the cell cycle to the 2-cell stage was determined. NucBlue was used to visualize the nuclei of the embryos, we observed multiple (2 or 4) nuclei in a small percentage of the inhibited embryos, suggesting that cytokinesis was inhibited but not nuclear division in these eggs. We are exploring the impact of JNK inhibition on specific steps required for successful division, including spindle formation, DNA replication, and cleavage furrow formation in order to determine the specific steps that require JNK activity.