Location
SU 214
Start Date
15-11-2019 9:40 AM
Presentation Type
Podium
Department
Biology
Session
Session 2
Description
As cells age, they accumulate DNA damage that can lead to genomic instability, mutations, and cancer. DNA repair proteins, such as Werner (WRN), have essential roles preventing and repairing DNA damage caused by stress from the environment, DNA replication errors, and free radicals. In humans, mutations in WRN lead to Werner syndrome (WS), a heritable disease characterized by patients’ early onset of aging, increased risk of cancer and other age-related pathologies. My lab uses Drosophila mutant in the fly homolog of WRN, WRNexo, to elucidate its role in DNA repair and aging. While human WRN has both an exonuclease and helicase domain, the Drosophila homolog, WRNexo, only contains an exonuclease domain, providing us with a unique model to study exonuclease-specific functions largely uninvestigated in human cells. Previous studies have shown that WRNexo has exonuclease activity and acts on similar DNA substrate as human WRN. Similarly, flies with WRNexo mutations, (WRNexo Δ ) are sensitive to reagents that cause DNA replication stress demonstrating that WRNexo is important in maintaining normal DNA replication.
Included in
Modeling Aging and Degenerative Disease in DNA Repair-Deficient Drosophila
SU 214
As cells age, they accumulate DNA damage that can lead to genomic instability, mutations, and cancer. DNA repair proteins, such as Werner (WRN), have essential roles preventing and repairing DNA damage caused by stress from the environment, DNA replication errors, and free radicals. In humans, mutations in WRN lead to Werner syndrome (WS), a heritable disease characterized by patients’ early onset of aging, increased risk of cancer and other age-related pathologies. My lab uses Drosophila mutant in the fly homolog of WRN, WRNexo, to elucidate its role in DNA repair and aging. While human WRN has both an exonuclease and helicase domain, the Drosophila homolog, WRNexo, only contains an exonuclease domain, providing us with a unique model to study exonuclease-specific functions largely uninvestigated in human cells. Previous studies have shown that WRNexo has exonuclease activity and acts on similar DNA substrate as human WRN. Similarly, flies with WRNexo mutations, (WRNexo Δ ) are sensitive to reagents that cause DNA replication stress demonstrating that WRNexo is important in maintaining normal DNA replication.