The mission of MCB is to understand fundamental biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels across all domains of life. We accomplish this through research, classroom teaching, and laboratory training directed at promoting the intellectual curiosity and critical thinking of individuals at all career levels including undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research staff members, and faculty.
News
- Summer ’24 Doctoral Dissertation Award AnnouncementCongratulations to Alyssa Coulter, Ryan Drennan, Jacob Kellermeier, Nadine Lebek and Michelle Neitzey on their Summer '24 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Awards from the Graduate School!Posted on April 16, 2024
- MCB Grad Student Appreciation WeekOn Monday, 4/8, the MCB Department celebrated UConn's Grad Appreciation Week with Dairy Bar ice cream! It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy each other's company along with the ice cream. Thank you MCB Graduate students for all you do!Posted on April 10, 2024
- MCB DEI Seminar and Workshop with B. Chad Starks a SuccessThe MCB DEI Committee recently welcomed Dr. B. Chad Starks, CEO and Founder of BCS & Associates for a special seminar and workshop. Dr. B. Chad Starks is a writer, speaker, and educator with over 20 years of experience working with universities, research institutions, and organizations to provide training on issues of social justice and […]Posted on April 8, 2024
- Goldhamer Lab Receives Grant from Alexion PharmaceuticalsDr. David Goldhamer and Alexion Pharmaceuticals have established a collaborative research agreement under the company’s Discovery Partnerships Program to investigate mechanisms of impaired regeneration in models of muscle degenerative disease.Posted on April 2, 2024
- 2024 MCB Summer Fellowship AwardsThe UConn Department of Molecular and Cell Biology is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 graduate and undergraduate student summer fellowships. These distinguished fellowships are made possible by some very generous donors and are offered on a competitive basis to the most highly qualified students. Congratulations to all the awardees! Claire M. Berg Graduate Fellowship […]Posted on April 1, 2024
News Archive
Upcoming Events
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Apr
26
MCB Research in Progress: McDermott and Samuelson 12:20pm
MCB Research in Progress: McDermott and Samuelson
Friday, April 26th, 2024
12:20 PM
Biology/Physics Building
Tyler McDermott, Mellone Lab
Consequences of Activating a Retroelement Enriched at Fruit Fly Centromeres
Kaylah Samuelson, Hanlon Lab
Elucidating the role of Polo kinase activity and regulation in meiotic drive of the B chromosomes in D. melanogaster
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Apr
26
All Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium 1:30pm
All Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium
Friday, April 26th, 2024
01:30 PM - 04:30 PM
TLS 111
All Biology Undergraduate Symposium
SCHEDULE:
1:30 - 1:35 pm Opening remarks Dr. Nathan Alder, Dr. Ed McAssey, Dr. Alexander Jackson1:35 - 1:45 pm Introduction: Micah Heumann, Director of the Office for Undergraduate Research1:45 - 2:00 pm Carrie Epstein2:00 - 2:15 pm Emma Beard2:15 - 2:30 pm Alana Grant2:30 - 2:45 pm Laurel Humphrey2:45 - 3:00 pm Annaliese Seibel3:00 - 3:15 pm Break3:15 - 3:30 pm Sila Inanoglu3:30 - 3:45 pm Sindy Gorka3:45 - 4:00 pm Akshara Iyer4:00 - 4:15 pm Olivia Bowes (WebEx)livestream link: https://www.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/2090521/uiconf_id/37067881/entry_id/1_s3nhc431/embed/iframe?
MCB PRESENTERS:
Emma Beard
Investigating the Role of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling in Drosophila SpermiogenesisOlivia Bowes
The Effects of Phosphodiesterases on Sperm Storage in Female Drosophila melanogasterSindy Gorka
Investigation of Timing and Function of Post-mitotic Readthrough TranscriptionEEB PRESENTERS:
Laurel Humphrey
The First Draft Genome of Cold-Water Octocoral Anthothela grandiflora, the Great Flowerbud CoralSila Inanoglu
Effect of α-pinene on ectoparasite resistance in tree swallowsAnnaliese Seibel
Comparative Energy Allocation of Native Anadromous and Invasive Landlocked Sea LampreyPNB PRESENTERS:
Carrie Epstein
Diazocine Synthesis for Photocontrol of CRAC ChannelsAlana Grant
Synaptic protein expression in hypothalamic arousal neurons regulates sleep-wake architectureAkshara Iyer
Identifying Novel Upstream Regulators of the Hippo Pathway: Forward Genetic Screen in Drosophila MelanogasterABSTRACTS:
Carrie Epstein
Emma Beard
Investigating the Role of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling in Drosophila Spermiogenesis
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut
Rachael P. Norris, Department of Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center
Miki Furusho, Department of Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center
Mark Terasaki, Department of Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center
PI: Mayu Inaba, Department of Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center
In the Drosophila testis, developing germ cells are encapsulated by somatic support cells throughout development. Soma-germline interactions are essential for successful spermiogenesis. However, it is still not fully understood what signaling events take place between the soma and the germline. In this study, we found that a Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) ligand, Glass bottom boat (Gbb), secreted from somatic cyst cells (CCs), signals to differentiating germ cells to maintain proper spermiogenesis. Knockdown of Gbb in CCs or the type I BMP receptor Saxophone (Sax) in germ cells leads to a defect in sperm head bundling and decreased fertility. Electron microscopy analyses revealed that the mutant germ cells have aberrant morphology of mitochondria throughout the stages of spermiogenesis and exhibit a defect in nebenkern formation. Elongating spermatids show uncoupled nuclei and elongating mitochondrial derivatives, suggesting that improper mitochondrial development may cause the sperm bundling defect. Taken together, we propose a new role of soma-derived BMP signaling, which is essential for spermiogenesis.
Alana Grant
Synaptic protein expression in hypothalamic arousal neurons regulates sleep-wake
Architecture
-Jackson Laboratory
-Lab PI: Alexander Jackson
-Graduate student: William ArmstrongHypocretin/orexin (H/OX) is a neuropeptide produced by a subpopulation of neurons in the lateral hypothalamus (LHA). H/OX neurons are critical regulators of wakefulness via their excitatory effects on wake-promoting neurons, and disruption of H/OX signaling is associated with the sleep disorder narcolepsy, which is characterized by frequent transitions into REM sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, and sudden loss of muscle tone during wakefulness known as cataplexy. Despite much work describing H/OX’s role in arousal behavior, the molecular regulators of these neurons’ wake-promoting synapses remain unknown. We identified C1ql3 as a novel marker for H/OX neurons which encodes for a putative synaptic organizing protein in other brain regions. We therefore hypothesize that C1QL3 has a regulatory role in the excitatory synaptic transmission and the arousal-promoting effects of H/OX neurons. Utilizing a C1ql3f/f-mVenus mouse, we knocked out C1ql3 from H/OX neurons by injecting AAVDJ-hSyn-Cre into the LHA to generate C1ql3 conditional knockout mice (C1ql3 H/OX-cKO). Blinded EEG/ EMG analysis was done to analyze the sleep-wake architecture of these mice compared to uninjected controls. C1ql3 H/OX-cKO mice resulted in a largely REM-specific effect, showing an increase in total time spent and in the number of episodes of REM sleep compared to control animals. The latency to enter REM from falling asleep sleep, which is often decreased in human narcolepsy patients and animal models of H/OX dysfunction, was also found to be significantly decreased in C1ql3 H/OX-cKO mice. This data supports our hypothesis that C1QL3 might stabilize H/OX synapses to regulate arousal states.
Laurel Humphrey
The First Draft Genome of Cold-Water Octocoral Anthothela grandiflora, the Great Flowerbud Coral
Laurel Humphrey1, Michelle Neitzey2, Emily Trybulec2, Cynthia Webster1, Jill Wegrzyn1, Timothy Shank3, Rachel O’Neill2
1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut
2 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Connecticut
3 Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionCold-water corals are important sources of ocean biodiversity, yet populations are increasingly threatened by human activity and global warming. Soft octocorals may endure higher ocean acidification levels in comparison to stony hexacorals, although the mechanisms of octocoral biomineralization are less understood. Building genomic resources for cold-water octocorals could help to close information gaps by elucidating coral phylogeny and identifying adaptive potential to climate change. This report describes the first reference genome for the cold-water octocoral species Anthothela grandiflora found throughout the Atlantic Ocean. Sequencing by Oxford Nanopore and Illumina generated 43.6 Gb of long reads at 35.9x coverage and 32.9 Mb of trimmed, paired-end mRNA reads. The final, scaffold-level genome assembly was 641 Mb in length, contained 22,669 scaffolds with N50 length of 82.5 Kb, and included 84.1% of the expected metazoan single-copy orthologs. A high proportion of repetitive content (67.8% of the genome) was masked and 14,837 protein-coding genes were identified with a functional annotation rate of 79%. Orthologous gene family analysis was used to identify expanding and contracting gene families specific to A. grandiflora and other octocorals. These de novo genomic resources will serve to augment the current understanding of various corals and benefit the protection of ecologically-important cold-water coral communities.
Annaliese Seibel
Comparative Energy Allocation of Native Anadromous and Invasive Landlocked Sea Lamprey
Annaliese Seibel and Eric Schultz
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of ConnecticutDetermining differences in energy storage and metabolism of an invasive and native population of a species can be vital in understanding what factors make an invasive species successful. To investigate the comparative energetics of the native anadromous sea lamprey and the Great Lakes invasive sea lamprey populations, the lipid content and whole-body field metabolic rate of samples of invasive and native sea lamprey were determined. Native anadromous sea lamprey were collected from the Connecticut River and invasive landlocked sea lamprey were collected from the Hammond Bay Biological Station in Wisconsin at various weeks throughout their migration and spawning life phase. The Soxhlet extraction method was utilized to extract all metabolically accessible lipids from samples to determine their lipid content and samples were ashed in a muffle furnace to determine their lean content. Total energy (kcal) was calculated as the energy stored in both lipid and lean tissue and field metabolic rate was estimated as the change in total energy per day of migration. Results showed that although the invasive landlocked sea lamprey are smaller than the native sea lamprey, they store roughly the same percentage of lipids and have a higher whole-body field metabolic rate than the native anadromous sea lamprey. These results indicate that the Great Lakes environment could be more energetically demanding than the native range for Petromyzon marinus, leading to inflated energy storage and metabolism in the invasive population compared to the native population.
Sila Inanoglu
Effect of α-pinene on ectoparasite resistance in tree swallows
Sila Ecem Inanoglu, Sydney Horan, Lorraine Perez, Hannah Brewer, Sarah Knutie
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of ConnecticutMany bird species incorporate volatile plant material, such as pine needles, into their nests, which can correlate with reduced nest ectoparasite survival. However, it is unclear whether the material directly affects parasite survival or indirectly affects parasite survival through the effects of the plant material on the host’s immune system. For our study, we disentangled the direct and indirect effect of α-pinene (the volatile compound in pine needles) on tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings and their nest ectoparasite community. We experimentally treated nests with an α-pinene or control solution then identified and quantified nest ectoparasite taxa (blow flies [Protocalliphora sialia] and mites [Dermanyssus spp. and Ornithonyssus spp.]) and antibody response of nestlings. Blow fly abundances did not differ significantly between treatments, but pinene-treated nests had fewer mites. Preliminary evidence suggests that laboratory mites treated directly with α-pinene had lower survival than control mites. The antibody response of nestlings did not differ between treatments, nor did it correlate with mite abundance. These results suggest that the relationship between nest pine needles and parasite abundance is mediated by the direct effect of α-pinene on parasitic mite survival rather than an indirect effect through the host.
Sindy Gorka
Akshara Iyer
Identifying Novel Upstream Regulators of the Hippo Pathway: Forward Genetic Screen in Drosophila Melanogaster
Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, University of Connecticut
Mentor: Jianzhong Yu, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, University of ConnecticutThe Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved developmental pathway that controls organ size and tissue homeostasis in all metazoan animals. Dysregulated Hippo pathway has been implicated in a wide range of human disorders, including cancer. The physiological function of the Hippo pathway is best understood in Drosophila, where inactivation of the Hippo pathway tumor suppressors, or overexpression of the Yorkie (Yki) oncoprotein, results in tissue overgrowth characterized by excessive cell proliferation and diminished apoptosis, and increased transcription of Hippo pathway target genes such as diap1 and expanded (ex). Despite the well-established Hippo pathway core signaling cascade, the upstream regulation of the Hippo pathway is less understood. This screening project attempts to identify novel upstream regulators of the Hippo pathway, specifically genes located on the X chromosome of Drosophila, through a forward genetic screen for overgrowth phenotypes. Random point mutations were induced through EMS treatment, and a merlin mutant background increased the sensitivity of the screen. After candidates were identified and validated, Diap1 levels were examined in third-instar larvae eye discs to determine the mutation’s impact on the Hippo pathway. A total of five overgrowth candidates were identified, and one was validated through reproducibility tests after establishing stocks. Diap1 staining suggests a role of the candidate mutation in regulating Hippo signaling. Future directions include mapping and characterizing the candidate mutations
Olivia Bowes
The Effects of Phosphodiesterases on Sperm Storage in Female Drosophila melanogaster.
MCB Major, Sun Lab (Dept of PNB), IDEA Grant Funded
Sperm storage is a process in Drosophila melanogaster where the male sperm is held in the female reproductive tract, in glands called spermathecae (SPT) and seminal receptacles (SR), to allow for prolonged sperm storage and maintenance in environments where regular mating may not be viable. While stored in these organs, the sperm is exposed to secretions produced by the SPT and parovaria (PO) which provide many proteins and nutrients vital for preparing the sperm for fertilization. While genes derived from the male reproductive tract and seminal fluids have been thoroughly investigated in their relationship to sperm maintenance (McCullough et al. 2022), the female-derived genes involved in the processes regulating sperm storage and maintenance have not been well-characterized. Therefore, we investigated possible roles of female-derived Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in the process of sperm storage using the Gal4-UAS system to knock down genes coding for individual PDEs specifically in the secretory cells of the SPT and PO. Through this process, we identified Pde8, a probable catalyst for the hydrolysis of cAMP, as an involved enzyme in the process of sperm storage in the SPT. We also found through RNA-seq that Pde6, Pde11, and pn are present in the SPT and surrounding tissues, but they did not show a defect in sperm storage when knocked down in the SPT and parovaria (PO). This indicates that Pde8 plays an important role in sperm storage and future studies should investigate if the defect caused by Pde8 knockdown can be amplified by knocking out multiple PDEs simultaneously.
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Apr
29
MCB Dissertation Defense: Corey Theodore 1:00pm
MCB Dissertation Defense: Corey Theodore
Monday, April 29th, 2024
01:00 PM
ESB 121
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of Connecticut
Announces the
Oral Dissertation Defense for the Doctoral Degree
Corey Theodore
B.S. Curry College
Cytoskeletal Control of Autophagosome Turnover and Lysosome Integrity
Monday, April 29, 2024
1:00 PM
ESB 121
Major Advisor: Dr. Kenneth Campellone
Associate Advisor: Dr. Adam Zweifach
Associate Advisor: Dr. David Goldhamer
Examiner: Dr. Nathan Alder
Examiner: Dr. Juliet Lee
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Apr
30
MCB Dissertation Defense: Amanda DelVichio 1:00pm
MCB Dissertation Defense: Amanda DelVichio
Tuesday, April 30th, 2024
01:00 PM
ESB 121
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of Connecticut
Announces the
Oral Dissertation Defense for the Doctoral Degree
Amanda DelVichio
B.S. University of Dubuque
Tendon-Like Cells of the Intermuscular Fascia are Causal Cells of Heterotopic Ossification in a Mouse Model of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
1:00 PM
ESB 121
Major Advisor: David Goldhamer
Associate Advisor: Charles Giardina
Associate Advisor: Kenneth Campellone
Examiner: Michael O’Neill
Examiner: Akiko Nishiyama
Link to Current Draft of Dissertation
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May
2
MCB Related Proposal: Sarah Pasqualetti 11:00am
MCB Related Proposal: Sarah Pasqualetti
Thursday, May 2nd, 2024
11:00 AM
BPB 201
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of Connecticut
Announces the
Related Proposal for the Doctoral Degree
Sarah Pasqualetti
B.S. University of Connecticut
Microbes and their Interactions within the Gasterosteus aculeatusMicrobiome that Contribute to Plastic Degrading Potential
Thursday, May 2, 2024
11:00 AM
BPB 201
Major Advisor: Dr. Kat Milligan-McClellan
Associate Advisor: Dr. Spencer Nyholm
Associate Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Klassen
Associate Advisor: Dr. Jess Brandt
Associate Advisor: Dr. Leslie ShorContact Information:
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Recent Publications
Gogarten Lab:
Neighboring inteins interfere with one another's homing capacity
PNAS Nexus
Lynes Lab:
Extracellular metallothionein as a therapeutic target in the early progression of Type 1 Diabetes
j.cstres
Lynes Lab:
Stress biology: Complexity and multifariousness in health and disease
j.cstres
Teschke Lab:
Bacteriophage P22 SieA-mediated superinfection exclusion
mbio
Goldhamer Lab:
Sex as a critical variable in basic and pre-clinical studies of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.
Biomolecules
May Lab:
Curvature sensing lipid dynamics in a mitochondrial inner membrane model.
Commun Biol
Heaslip Lab:
F-actin and myosin F control apicoplast elongation dynamics which drive apicoplast-centrosome association inToxoplasma gondii
mbio