| Affiliations: | |
| Project Leader: | Todd Kveton tkveton@tamu.edu Biology |
| Faculty Mentor: | Xiaorong Lin, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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Summer 2016 (complete) |
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Team Size:
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3 (Team Full) |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Learn skills of reading and writing academic literatures, being lab citizens, thinking in a scientific and logic way. Learn basic molecular cloning techniques that will be done in almost every biology-related lab you work in, such as PCR, restriction enzyme digestion, bacterial and fungal transformation. Learn to use different kinds of microscopes. Network with a Texas A&M Faculty member and a few Texas A&M post-docs |
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Team Needs:
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A passion for biological research is greatly desired. An interest in the field of medical mycology is a plus. Expected to work independently and as well as in an interactive team environment. Completion of the free BL-2 Safety Training through Texas A&M is a requirement to work in the lab. |
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Description:
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Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic human fungal pathogen causing more than half a million death each year. It undergoes dramatic morphological differentiation during its life cycles. The morphogenesis appears to be coupled with either bisexual or unisexual reproduction, during which ploidy reduction happens through meiosis. Cryptococcal infection is typically asymptomatic, and it either can be cleared or enter into a dormant form in the lungs. Polyploid titan cells have been observed in the infected lung tissues. After reactivation of C. neoformans, it can disseminate into the brain, where only haploid cells are observed, causing fetal meningitis. Based on the observations, we hypothesize that the polyploid titan cells may play roles in establishment of cryptococcal latency, and meiosis may happen in vivo to help cryptococcal ploidy reduction and dissemination. Recently, we identified the in vitro condition, under which the meiosis-blocked mutants show enlarge cell size and DNA content.To further test our hypothesis we will be generating several mutant strains with meiosis blocked in different steps to observe their effect on cell size and DNA content. In the future, we will test the effects of meiosis on cryptococcal latency and discrimination during infection in a mice model. |