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Show UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ABSTRACTS SPRING 2007 William Hoang Shannon Odelberg David Kent 77 Regenerative Processes in Newts William Hoang (Shannon Odelberg, David Kent) Department of Cardiology University of Utah Newts have an ability to regenerate limbs, spinal cord, portions of retina, and heart. This regenerative ability is possible because newt cells can undergo dedifferentiation. Research is being done in the Odelberg lab to determine which genes are up or down regulated during a variety of regenerative processes. Genes that are determined to be up or down regulated by microarray analysis are tested by real-time RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) to confirm their differential expression. Using real-time RT-PCR, it is possible to determine the degree of up or down regulation of a particular gene by comparing the number of amplified products from the regeneration samples to the number in the intact samples following each cycle of PCR. By analyzing gene expression between regenerating and intact tissues from several different regenerating newt tissues and structures, we are working to identify genes that are similarly up or down regulated in all tissues during regeneration. Data is currently being collected in this project and is expected to be complete by spring/summer 2007. |