BIO

Bethany Kear is a sophomore majoring in Cell and Molecular Neuroscience. She is from Fernandina Beach, Florida, but looks forward to studying in Valencia, Spain, over the summer. She is interested in the application of functional genomics approaches to investigate how aging affects the brain and peripheral tissues. In the future, Bethany hopes to become a neurologist.

Functional genomics of gut homeostasis in Nf1 mutant Drosophila

Abstract

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is often used as a model to investigate aging, neurodevelopmental disorders, and various physiological phenotypes. Flies with mutations in the Nf1 gene can be used as a model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a genetic disorder associated with noncancerous tumors growing under the skin as well as developmental disorders like ADHD (Friedman, 2022). One of the main functions of Nf1 is to down regulate the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, which has important functions in aging and metabolism. Recent research has shown that Nf1 mutant flies experience shortened life spans and reduced gut homeostasis, marked by increased levels of reactive oxygen species in the gut and increased gut permeability (Brown et al., 2023). This study seeks to further explore the relationship between the Nf1 gene, gut health, and aging. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a model, we performed gut dissections on 5 day old and 20 day old Nf1 mutant flies and wild-type flies. This gut tissue will be analyzed with Illumina RNA sequencing to further understand the differences in gene expression that underlie this gut phenotype during aging. With these results, we hope to gain a better understanding of the genetic basis of aging in the gut. A broader goal is to increase knowledge of gut health and lifespan in individuals with Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Keywords: neuroscience, biology; drosophila; aging; genomics; gut health