Fall 2024:Strain-specific differences on the effect of maternal dietary vitamin A intake and High-Fat Diet

Affiliations:

Genetics & Genomics Research Leadership

Project Leader:

Marianny Alvarado-Gonzalez
marianny.alvarado@tamu.edu
Nutrition

Faculty Mentor:

Masako Suzuki

Meeting Times:

TBA

Team Size:

3

Open Spots:

1

Special Opportunities:

Students will be able to immerse themselves in the nutrigenomics field working with previously acquired proteomics expression data of different mice strains. Potentially learn and aid in mice handling. Perform RT-qPCR and use bioinformatic tools for analysis.

Team Needs:

Basic knowledge of molecular techniques, genetics and/or nutrition background, and interest to learn bioinformatic applications for proteomics and transcriptomics data.

Description:

In the Suzuki laboratory, we are interested in researching the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis which states that environmental influences, such as nutrition, induce epigenetic adaptations during the early life stages that could contribute to health risks later in life. This project specifically focuses on the effects of prenatal vitamin A and fat intake on the offspring phenotype and how these can also be modulated by genetic variations. Our current main focus is understanding strain-specific differences in female mice liver’s proteome and metabolome driven by our four types of diets prior mating. Nevertheless, through a future secondary dietary intervention we’ll be able to test and compare omics data that will elucidate the effects of both mothers and mice pups induced by the prenatal diets.