Francesca Di Domenico
Research Mentor(s): Jacob Mueller
Mentor Department: Human Genetics
Authors:
Session: Session 3 (11:00am – 11:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 42
Abstract
Mendel’s Law of Inheritance is foundational to the study of genetics – it states that each parent has a 50/50 chance of transmitting their maternal or paternal chromosomes to the next generation. However, this law is not always followed. Some genes are “selfish,†which means that they promote their own inheritance, indicating biased inheritance of maternal or paternal genes. Two genes that are considered to be selfish are the Slx and Slxl1 genes, which are located on the X chromosome of house mice (Mus musculus). Slxl1 is known to impact the fitness of X- bearing sperm, however whether Slx impacts X-bearing sperm fitness remains unclear. Fitness differences in X- and Y-bearing sperm to fertilize an egg lead to sex ratio distortion (more male or female offspring). Through my research, I will determine if there is a sex distortion ratio for mice with deletions of Slx and Slxl1 in a Nxf2 null mutant background. I will breed mutant male mice to wild-type female mice to test for sex ratio distortion. I will use PCR, followed by gel electrophoresis to visualize their genotype, to determine the sex of each offspring and the transmission of the deletions. After confirming the genotypes of the offspring, I will be able to determine if the Slx and Slxl1 genes alter the sex ratio based on the number of male and female offspring. This study will be important in understanding how sex ratio distortion may similarly evolve across animals with sex chromosomes.
