The purpose of our current research is to evaluate a series of antitumor compounds capable of interacting with DNA, for their mutagenic potential in Drosophila melanogaster in vivo and relate these findings to their molecular structure. Mutagenicity is first assayed in somatic tissue using somatic mutation and recombination tests and then in germ cells by employing tests in detecting sex-linked recessive lethals and for chromosome breaks and loss. The compounds are 1) Ellipticine, 9-hydroxy- ellipticine and 2-N-methyl-9-ellipticine (Celliptium); 2) the anthracycline antibiotics; Adryamycin and Daunomycin. In addition, the nature of intragenic mutations produced by those that are strongly mutagenic will be determined through genetic and molecular analysis of germ line mutations induced at a specific locus (Adh), since this may help to elucidate the mechanism of mutagenesis. Comparative studies allow for the determination of the molecular features that reduce/enhance the mutagenicity of these compounds in vivo. While studies with somatic and germ cells and the analysis of several genetic endpoints, allows for the better assessment of the mutagenicity and contribute to the elucidation of mechanisms of chemical mutagenesis. The knowledge gained could be used for the development of non-mutagenic anticancer drugs. Through this project students are trained in genotoxicity testing using Drosophila as well as in genetic and molecular analysis of intragenic mutations. As a result, they will have a better understanding of genetics and mutagenesis, and they will develop skills in designing experiments, collection of data, scientific writing and seminar presentations to prepare them for careers in biomedical sciences.
| Ramírez-Camejo, Luis A; Maldonado-Morales, Génesis; Bayman, Paul (2017) Differential Microbial Diversity in Drosophila melanogaster: Are Fruit Flies Potential Vectors of Opportunistic Pathogens? Int J Microbiol 2017:8526385 |
| Morales-Rivera, Keyla F; Piñero Cruz, Dalice M; Prieto, Jose A (2017) Crystal structure of (-)-(S)-4-[(2S,3S,4S,Z)-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-hept-5-en-2-yl]-1,3-dioxolan-2-one. Acta Crystallogr E Crystallogr Commun 73:1070-1072 |
| García-Arriaga, Marilyn; Acosta-Santiago, Maxier; Cruz, Antony et al. (2017) Probing the Limits of Supramolecular G-Quadruplexes Using Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Inorganica Chim Acta 468:209-222 |
| Huang, Qing; Quiñones, Edwin (2016) A spectroscopic method to determine the activity of the restriction endonuclease EcoRV that involves a single reaction. Anal Biochem 497:103-5 |
| Mège, Pascal; Schizas, Nikolaos V; Reyes, Joselyd García et al. (2015) Genetic seascape of the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, on the Puerto Rico Shelf. Mar Ecol (Berl) 36:195-209 |
| Morales-Rivera, Amarilys; Hernández-Burgos, Mayté M; Martínez-Rivera, Arlene et al. (2014) Anxiolytic effects of oxytocin in cue-induced cocaine seeking behavior in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 231:4145-55 |
| Ramírez-Camejo, Luis A; Torres-Ocampo, Ana P; Agosto-Rivera, José L et al. (2014) An opportunistic human pathogen on the fly: strains of Aspergillus flavus vary in virulence in Drosophila melanogaster. Med Mycol 52:211-9 |
| Martínez-Rivera, Arlene; Rodríguez-Borrero, Enrique; Matías-Alemán, María et al. (2013) Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 within nucleus accumbens shell modulates environment-elicited cocaine conditioning expression. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 110:154-60 |
| Galindo-Cardona, Alberto; Acevedo-Gonzalez, Jenny P; Rivera-Marchand, Bert et al. (2013) Genetic structure of the gentle Africanized honey bee population (gAHB) in Puerto Rico. BMC Genet 14:65 |
| Santiago-Rodriguez, Tasha M; Rivera, Jessica I; Coradin, Mariel et al. (2013) Antibiotic-resistance and virulence genes in Enterococcus isolated from tropical recreational waters. J Water Health 11:387-96 |
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