Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase genes may play critical role in embryonic development
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Northern Kentucky University
Abstract
"During development, cells in vertebrate embryos differentiate to form adult tissues and organs. Many genetic signaling pathways are used by cells to communicate and coordinate their development. If these genetic signals are disrupted, birth defects can result. We identified two genes from the pck (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) family that were potentially being expressed during embryonic development. We analyzed pck gene expression with in- situ hybridization and determined the tissue layers the pck genes were expressed in by sectioning the embryos. Our results show that pck1 and 2 are expressed in the ectoderm, a tissue that forms the skin and nervous system, suggesting that these genes may play important roles in the development of the skin. Moreover, amino acid alignments of the pck genes from multiple species were completed, identifying considerable similarities in protein domains. These results contribute to our understanding of the evolution and roles the pck genes play during embryonic development."
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2020 Celebration of Student Research and Creativity presentation
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Presentation
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Keywords
Pyruvate kinase, Embryology, Skin