It is known that a fly embryo develops at a rate dependent upon temperature–it happens faster at higher temperatures. When one half of a fly embryo is grown at a higher temperature than the other half, the warmer half develops more rapidly. In previous research, we demonstrated that endogenous small interfering RNAs, or endo-siRNAs, could confer a protective effect against temperature fluctuations in drosophila embryos. As a Pew fellow in the lab of 1995 Pew scholar Dr. Richard Carthew, I intend to determine the role of endo-siRNAs in developmental robustness against temperature perturbations. Using drosophila as a model, I am employing techniques from genetics and molecular biology to test the hypothesis that the endo-siRNA pathway can buffer the genes regulating development. This work could have broad implications in our understanding of the role of small RNAs in development.
Keywords: Development, endo-siRNAs, RNAi
Keywords: Development, endo-siRNAs, RNAi
