D09 : Using C elegans as a Model Organism to Discover Factors that Influence Neurodegeneration


Students Maya Morcos
School IND - King's Christian Collegiate - Oakville
Level Senior 11/12 - Grade 12
Group Group 3 - Health Sciences II
Abstract The purpose of the project was to find a procedure that identifies bacterial factors that influence neurodegeneration using AU78 Caenorhabditis Elegans as a model organism. This was done by using a fluorescent reporter for the 724B8.5 gene in the worms, which were placed on mutant bacteria that induce neurodegeneration or are neuroprotective, to try to find a mutant that no longer induces a change in gene expression. This can help to understand what in the bacteria is inducing the change in the worm.