Using the Flexon Approach to RNAi for Analysis of Gene Function in Gonadal Development in C. elegans
Date of Project
5-1-2026
Document Type
Honors Thesis
School Name
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Biology
Major Advisor
Dr. Mary Kroetz
Second Advisor
Dr. Josef Jareczek
Abstract
C. elegans, a nematode worm, was used as a model organism to analyze the developmental effects of knocking down the expression of genes that are both essential to worm viability and highly enriched in reproductive tissues. In earlier research, approximately 70 C. elegans genes were identified that are both gonad-enriched and essential. To prioritize which genes should be the focus of future studies, a new strain of C. elegans was produced with three specific genetic variations that: 1) silence essential, somatic gonad-enriched gene expression, 2) limit the effects of this gene silencing to the gonad, and 3) yield a high proportion of male progeny. Future directions for this study will entail selecting genes for silencing and identifying which of these genes, when silenced, leads to developmental abnormalities in the worms. This will broaden our understanding of essential genes, which are most likely to be importantly involved in the reproductive system’s development.
Recommended Citation
Spalding, Andrew D., "Using the Flexon Approach to RNAi for Analysis of Gene Function in Gonadal Development in C. elegans" (2026). Undergraduate Theses. 226.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/ugrad_theses/226