Minseo Kim
NUMR-1, a Novel UV-inducible Nuclear Protein in C. elegans
Nuclear body formation contributes to cellular homeostasis under stress conditions by regulating nuclear processes like DNA repair and stress signaling. Previous studies have identified NUMR-1/-2 as a protein required for subnuclear organelle formation in response to nucleolar stress as well as for pathways for metal-induced stress resistance. However, the protein’s role in UV-induced stress response mechanisms has not been studied for C. elegans. At the Ma lab, I have previously found NUMR-1/-2 expression to strikingly increase by 24 hours after UV. This summer, I aim to further explore NUMR-1/-2’s role in UV response by observing how a numr-1 deletion strain will respond differentially to UV by observing behaviors like locomotion, DNA/RNA fragmentation, and survival in comparison to wildtype worms.
Message To Sponsor
I am so thankful for this opportunity that has made working on my project a possibility. This opportunity has opened up the door and inspired me to continue pursuing research while in medical school, and I look forward to finding more striking discoveries and improve as a scientist through this opportunity!