Hermela Benyam
Pronouns: Her, Hers
Research Mentor(s): Lynn Carpenter, Lecturing Faculty
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology /Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 3 (1pm-1:50pm)
Breakout Room: Room 8
Presenter: 3
Abstract
Since nuclear radiation was discovered, researchers have long-known that creatures who have been exposed to high levels through nuclear bombings or nuclear disasters will either be killed instantly or suffer damage to their genetic material. In plants, these genetic accidents can then be passed on to their offspring through mutations that are carried through generations through somatic mutations. Despite our best efforts as a species, humans have accidentally, and intentionally caused several nuclear disasters throughout the world including Chernobyl (1986), Three Mile Island (1979), Fukushima (2011), Hiroshima (1945) and Nagasaki (1945) to name a few. Unlike our expectations, that these areas would be deserted and useless, nature has rebounded and succeeded incredibly well within each of these areas. Things have gone so well, in fact, that there has been a recent call to investigate the effect of radiation on plants exposed to these levels of radiation to try to gain insight into this phenomena. Our team aims to examine the genetic makeup of trees that have withstood these high levels of nuclear exposure. We plan to sequence the genomes of trees that lived before, and then survived these nuclear disasters. We will sample the oldest branches (bottom of the trees) in addition to the youngest branches (tops of the trees) to try and detect any genetic changes that resulted from the radiation exposure (ex. Increased mutation rates, etc.). Those somatic mutations would, ideally, allow us to quantify genetic changes that have likely helped the tree to survive these adverse conditions, and allow us to determine what genes can help trees survive such extreme changes in the environment.
Authors: Lynn Carpenter, Hermela Benyam, Lynn Carpenter
Research Method: Qualitative Study
