Sarah Adler Rose Hills
Characterizing MERVL viral-like capsids in mouse embryo development
40% of the human and mouse genomes are composed of transposable elements, as compared to only 2% protein-coding genes. Transposable elements are non-coding genes that can jump around the genome, and are thought to be “junk” DNA. Recent studies have indicated that a subset of these elements are functional and/or essential for normal host function. MERVL is a family of murine endogenous retroviruses. ERVs are a type of transposable element that retain gene structure similar to exogenous retroviruses such as HIV. MERVL is solely and highly expressed during early mouse embryonic development. Recent studies of MERVL deficient embryos suggest that MERVL is critical for early development. Our lab has identified viral-like capsids attributable to MERVL. My research project is to understand how the formation, assembly, and interface of these viral-like capsids with other organelles could affect early embryonic development. In collaboration with the Berkeley EML, I am using Transmission Electron Microscopy to gain a nanoscale view of the capsids’ localization and structure. Machine learning is used to analyze the images and create 2D and 3D models of the capsids and surrounding organelles.
Message To Sponsor
I’d like to express my sincere gratitude for the generosity of the donor providing the funding for my research project. The opportunity to contribute to a larger scientific understanding of the non-coding genome and early development is one I am so excited to pursue. I am so thankful that I have incredible resources provided to me in this endeavor, through the support of the summer scholarship.