Over the past year I have worked with Dr. Marcello and have learned so much about the research process, time management and teamwork. When we first started on this project there were many setbacks such as waiting for the correct bacteria strain to arrive in the lab and learning the proper way to pick the worms. When we finally had all of our reagents and necessary materials, I was able to begin RNAi trials and perfect my technique as time went on. However, when I felt the most comfortable in this process and believed I had sufficient data to switch to the next phase of the project, the lab closed due to COVID-19 and we were unable to continue the research plan. After a while, I realized this is what comes with research. There will be setbacks and as much as you can have a plan, you have to be ready and willing to make adjustments as you go. Having a schedule is important but also having room for error, flexibility, and open communication has been the biggest lesson of all. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity.
We studied the influence of the prohibitin on fertility in C. elegans as this gene is known to play a key role in the production and maintenance of mitochondria, a necessary organelle for cellular energy. Through a series of RNAi experiments we expected for fewer progeny to be produced by mutant worms lacking this gene. The data collected supports our hypothesis by demonstrating that the phb-2 mutants produced fewer worms, differing significantly from the positive control. Surprisingly the data also showed that the reduced progeny amount is not a result of embryos arresting at the egg stage. Compared to the negative control, the phb-2 mutants had significantly fewer unhatched eggs on the plate after treatment.
We initially planned to analyze the mitochondria in the phb-2 mutants to compare to that of wild type worms to see if there were any noticeable abnormalities across the different stages in the life cycle. However, due to unforeseen circumstances we were unable to conduct these trials. The expected changes in mitochondria could potentially result in a reduced number of quality gametes in the hermaphrodite worms therefore limiting the number of progeny able to be produced. Additional tests viewing the gametes of the mutant and wild type worms would need to be conducted in order to confirm this. Fewer quality gametes would further support a relationship between humans and C. elegans in terms of diminished oocyte quality, prohibitin loss, and infertility.