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Disruption of the Cell Death Protection Gene CED-9 in Caenorhabditis elegans Using RNA Interference (RNAi)
EPA Grant Number: U916083Title: Disruption of the Cell Death Protection Gene CED-9 in Caenorhabditis elegans Using RNA Interference (RNAi)
Investigators: Gaeta, Robert T.
Institution: California State University - Long Beach
EPA Project Officer: Just, Theodore J.
Project Period: January 1, 2002 through January 1, 2004
Project Amount: $23,535
RFA: GRO Graduate Fellowships (2002)
Research Category: Biology/Life Sciences , Fellowship - Natural and Life Sciences , Academic Fellowships
Description:
Objective:The objective of this research project is to use the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to present evidence that nematode fecundity can be controlled by exposure to dsRNA molecules (dsRNAs) in their food and environment.
Approach:Plant-pathogenic nematodes result in substantial damage to agriculture worldwide. Methyl bromide, an environmentally unfriendly compound, is the most useful pesticide for combating such nematodes. Plant biotechnology can provide tools to manage nematodes, as it has with some insects, and a novel approach could exploit the mechanism of RNA interference to target nematode cell death pathways. Specifically, dsRNAs targeting the cell death protection gene ced-9 were shown to be effective at decreasing the fecundity of C. elegans by 30 percent. Furthermore, Zeldia punctata, a nematode more closely related to pathogenic species, also showed decreases in fecundity. Therefore, cell death protection genes may prove useful as targets for developing transgenic plants with resistance to plant-pathogenic nematodes.
Supplemental Keywords:fellowship, Caenorhabditis elegans, plant-pathogenic nematodes, pesticides, nematode cell death pathways, cell death protection, transgenic plants.