Yeast as Model Organisms to Study COX-2 Enzyme Production in Microgravity

Brookhaven Academy Brookhaven, Mississippi  Principal Investigators:  Missy Noel Clanton, 10 th grade  Mica Bailey Stewart, 10 th grade  Advisor:  Dr. Donna Sullivan PhD  Researcher – University of Mississippi Medical Center  Teacher Facilitators  Leslie Hood, Brookhaven Academy  Dr. Dianne Watson, Brookhaven Academy

Yeast as a Model Organism to Study COX-2 Enzyme Production in Microgravity. Will COX-2 Expression Increase?  COX-2 enzymes are elevated in approximately 85% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC)  CRC is the 2 nd leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States  Statistics show that over 90% of people who get colorectal cancer die

 Yeast is often used as a model organism in cancer research  The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used in this study due to its production of the COX-2 enzyme Yeast as a Model Organism to Study COX-2 Enzyme Production in Microgravity.

 Microarray analysis will be used to measure mRNA levels of several thousand genes in yeast, including those involved in the production of COX-2  The specific aim of this proposal is to evaluate gene expression in S. cerevisiae by microarray analysis Yeast as a Model Organism to Study COX-2 Enzyme Production in Microgravity.

 The proposed hypothesis is that COX-2 enzymes will be up-regulated in microgravity. Yeast as a Model Organism to Study COX-2 Enzyme Production in Microgravity.

 Materials:  0.5 mL of S. cerevisiae in phosphate buffered (Sigma- Aldrich)  2.0 mL of Yeast Peptone Dextrose Broth (Sigma-Aldrich)  2.5 mL of RNA later II (Agilent Technologies) Yeast as a Model Organism to Study COX-2 Enzyme Production in Microgravity.

 Hypothesis:  COX-2 enzymes will be up-regulated in microgravity.  Expected Outcome:  COX-2 enzymes will increase in number as the yeast increase in number  previous research shows that microorganisms such as yeast grow more rapidly in microgravity environments

Acknowledgments  Selby and Richard McRae Foundation  Brookhaven Academy Educational Foundation  Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), SSEP National Partner  National Center for Earth and Space Science Education  Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum