Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
5-8-2024 11:00 AM
End Date
5-8-2024 1:00 PM
Subjects
DNA repair, cell cycle
Advisor
Jason Podrabsky
Student Level
Undergraduate
Abstract
Faithful DNA replication is vital for all living organisms. Environmental stressors can cause a multitude of mutations and DNA lesions during replication leading to cell death if not accurately repaired. The annual killifish, Austrofundulus limnaeus, has a heightened tolerance to many known genotoxic stressors, including anoxia. Embryos of the annual killifish can survive months of anoxia during the dry season when the ephemeral ponds they inhabit, completely dry. During these exposures, they have shown they are capable of repairing substantial amounts of damaged DNA. This resilience has led us to hypothesize that A. limnaeus have enhanced DNA repair capabilities. An experiment using a previously developed cell line, PSU-AL-WS40NE, was designed to test the relationship between the cell cycle and damage accumulation through the aid of quantitative image-based cytometry (QIBC). This first study was run to determine if we could assess cell cycle stages of individual cells through anoxia. Surprisingly, cells were shown to continue DNA replication even after 24 hours of exposure to complete anoxia. This data suggests that the annual killifish can perform faithful replication from highly damaged DNA in conditions of extreme environmental stress.
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41888
Included in
QIBC Analysis on Killifish Cells Under Anoxic Conditions
Faithful DNA replication is vital for all living organisms. Environmental stressors can cause a multitude of mutations and DNA lesions during replication leading to cell death if not accurately repaired. The annual killifish, Austrofundulus limnaeus, has a heightened tolerance to many known genotoxic stressors, including anoxia. Embryos of the annual killifish can survive months of anoxia during the dry season when the ephemeral ponds they inhabit, completely dry. During these exposures, they have shown they are capable of repairing substantial amounts of damaged DNA. This resilience has led us to hypothesize that A. limnaeus have enhanced DNA repair capabilities. An experiment using a previously developed cell line, PSU-AL-WS40NE, was designed to test the relationship between the cell cycle and damage accumulation through the aid of quantitative image-based cytometry (QIBC). This first study was run to determine if we could assess cell cycle stages of individual cells through anoxia. Surprisingly, cells were shown to continue DNA replication even after 24 hours of exposure to complete anoxia. This data suggests that the annual killifish can perform faithful replication from highly damaged DNA in conditions of extreme environmental stress.