Investigating the relationship between heat-induced DNA damage and the synaptonemal complex during C. elegans spermatogenesis and oogenesis
| dc.contributor.advisor | Libuda, Diana | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Carey, Mark | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Cahoon, Cori | |
| dc.contributor.author | Feingold, Cailan | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-07-27T18:45:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-07-27T18:45:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021 | |
| dc.description | 53 pages | |
| dc.description.abstract | Meiosis is utilized by most sexually reproducing organisms to faithfully transmit their genome to the next generation through the production of eggs and sperm. Many aspects of meiosis are sexually dimorphic generating unique differences between spermatogenesis (sperm) and oogenesis (eggs). Spermatogenesis, unlike oogenesis, is sensitive to temperature changes and requires a narrow isotherm of 2-7°C below core body temperature. Sperm exposed to elevated temperatures, both from physiological and environmental conditions, has been linked to increased risks for testicular cancer and male infertility. Although the consequences of increased temperatures on male fertility are well documented, the mechanisms behind this heat-induced male infertility are currently unknown. Using the model system Caenorhabditis elegans, we found that spermatocytes display increased DNA damage following exposure to elevated temperatures, similar to what has been observed in mammals. Further, a critical meiotic chromosome structure, the synaptonemal complex (SC), displays sperm-specific temperature induced premature disassembly during late meiotic prophase I, which correlates with the DNA damage increase following exposure to elevated temperatures. For my honors thesis, I am investigating the relationship between the premature disassembly of the SC and elevated DNA damage in spermatogenesis following heat exposure. By heat shocking syp-1 mutants, which are unable to assemble the SC under normal conditions, I found sex-specific roles for the SC in influencing heat-induced DNA damage. In spermatocytes, syp-1 mutants partially suppress the heat-induced DNA damage compared to wild type, thereby suggesting that presence of the SC may be preventing the formation or repair of some heat-induced DNA damage in males. In contrast, syp-1 mutant oocytes displayed an increase in DNA damage during late prophase I following heat stress. Thus, the SC appears to take on a protective role during oogenesis by suppressing heat-induced DNA damage. Overall, these results uncover an unanticipated role of the SC in its regulation of heat-induced DNA damage that may contribute to sexually dimorphic responses to heat stress during oogenesis and spermatogenesis. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.orcid | 0000-0002-3559-8968 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/26512 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | |
| dc.subject | Biology | en_US |
| dc.subject | Infertility | en_US |
| dc.subject | Genome integrity | en_US |
| dc.subject | Meiosis | en_US |
| dc.subject | DNA damage | en_US |
| dc.title | Investigating the relationship between heat-induced DNA damage and the synaptonemal complex during C. elegans spermatogenesis and oogenesis | |
| dc.type | Thesis/Dissertation |