Sperm are highly specialized types of cells which, along with eggs, are essential for passing genetic information down to the next generation. This project will use the nematode, C. elegans, in order to understand how genes are turned on and off to coordinate the complex cell development program leading to sperm formation. The research will be driven in large part by University of California-Santa Cruz undergraduate transfer students. UC Santa Cruz is a Hispanic-Serving Institution with a diverse student body. The institution enrolls a large number of junior transfer students, which is expected to increase due to a UC initiative to streamline the application process. The transfer student populations are diverse, comprising a large percentage of underrepresented minorities, and face significant challenges in STEM education and access to research experiences. This project will test a program to increase the retention and academic success of junior transfer students, involve them in research, create community, build identity, and help them navigate their journey to a UC Santa Cruz degree.
Spermatogenesis involves a cascade of morphogenetic events. A single precursor cell must adopt and maintain a sperm fate, undergo reductive division, eliminate the vast majority of its cytoplasmic contents in the residual body, assemble and traffic organelles, and condense its chromatin. This project uses a combination of cutting-edge genome editing, drug-inducible protein depletion, and genomics to define the transcriptional networks that coordinate sperm morphogenesis. The research will investigate how the nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor NHR-23 controls meiotic division and organelle formation in spermatogenesis. It will test whether transcription factor inactivation is necessary for chromatin compaction and subsequent meiotic events in spermatogenesis. Genome editing and conditional protein depletion will be used to screen 20 uncharacterized transcription factors enriched in the spermatogenic germline for roles in spermatogenesis. Defining the gene regulatory networks underpinning spermatogenesis and defining key effectors is essential for developing formal models of sperm fate execution.
This project is jointly funded by the Genetic Mechanisms cluster and the Cellular Dynamics and Function cluster in the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
