Drosophila

Drosophila Lab Report

I. Introduction:

In lab, I studied Drosophila melanogaster insects. My task was to determine if a company accidentally released the Drosophila melanogaster insects into their surroundings. I studied the T5 strand, and in these insects, I found that a transgene was expressed. The transgene that I found is called cytochrome P450 4g15. The cytochrome P450 (CYPs) genes are a superfamily of heme-thiolate proteins characterized by 90 sequences. The overall function of the P450 proteins is participating in methanol metabolism, heme binding, iron ion binding, and participation in monooxygenase activity. The function of P450s is less understood in insects, but there is potential that they have a functioning role in the detoxification process. The specific P450 gene that was found in the T5 strand was cytochrome P450 4g15. It is located in larval brain cortex cells and in ring glands. On a subcellular level, it is located in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. The role of this gene has not been exactly targeted, but it is most likely involved in steroid hormones biosynthesis. The steroid hormones that are produced then trigger the larval-to-adult metamorphosis in Drosophila.

II. Methods:

In the experiment, there were two control groups; a positive control and a negative control. In our experiment, we had the positive control. We also had the T5 strand of the Drosophila population that we were testing. We extracted the DNA from each of these samples and performed PCR tests on each sample to test if the populations were transgenic. In order to test if the populations were transgenic, we needed to do the PCR test by using primers that were complementary to our gene. In doing this, we extracted the transgene and vector sequence that surrounded our transgene. The next step involved gel electrophoresis, in which we loaded our samples into agarose gels to determine whether our sample had bands. Once this was done, we then needed to determine which...