Grant: Project Grant

Starvation has always been a threat to people throughout evolution and to survive starvation specific gene products must step up and ensure that cells and organsims can adapt to a new state of low energy. Sometimes, when these gene products are faulty or missing the process doesn't occur correctly and results in maladaptation. We have shown that in a genetic model organism called C. elegans, this maladaptation results in a defect in reproductive capacity that is propagated through generations. This means that the descendants of the starved parent will eventually go extinct, although it may take few to several generations. We have tried to understand how this occurs and why starvation might lead ultimately to extinction of a family lineage. We show that a key mutagenic structure may be the culprit; one that causes significant DNA damage and thereby affecting future generations due to the mutations it can cause. We propose a series of experiments to better understand how this occurs and how we may be able to correct these defects through the use of transgenic approaches.