Gene expression is controlled and maintained by a variety of regulatory elements, including histones, which are what was researched for this study. Trimethylation of lysine 4 of histone 3 (H3K4me3) is a characteristic of the promoter regions of actively expressed genes. This means that wherever H3K4me3 is expressed highly, it indicates a portion of the chromatin that has genes that are highly expressed. The comparison of histone expression in mice of developmental stages (P0 and P8 in the case of this study) makes it possible to track the changes in degrees of expression of different genes, helping with the identification of the importance of certain genes during different points of development. In this study, the expression of H3K4me3 was studied in lens epithelial genes FOXe3, Mip, PAX6, and the lens fiber gene NCOA6. Lens epithelial explants were utilized in order to culture the cells and use them for further sequencing to identify characteristics of chromatin and relate them to chromatin-binding proteins, such as the H3K4me3 histone. Using CUT&RUN data, the patterns of H3K4me3 expression were analyzed and it was found that P0 (neonatal) mice, expression of H3K4me3 the both the lens epithelial and lens fiber was greater than in the P8 (8-day old) mice. Additionally, H3K4me3 expression was significantly greater in the lens epithelial genes than in the lens fiber genes, suggesting that the H3K4me3 histone is involved in cell differentiation in the lens. The study of different expression patterns of genes in the lens may help researchers identify co-regulation pathways during cell differentiation, providing a useful approach to defining pathway-specific processes in organisms.
Author: Julia Wojtowicz
Advisor: Michael L. Robinson, Biology
Graduate Advisor: Anil Upreti, Biology
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