The Department of Biochemistry will be exhibiting on March 28th!

Exhibitor title- DNA is the Recipe of Life

Abstract- In this hands-on activity, students will extract DNA from strawberries. DNA is often called the recipe of life as it provides instructions for cells in most living things. DNA can easily be extracted from strawberries which contain 6 copies of their genome. Faculty and Biochemistry students will help with the DNA extraction, and participants can take home the DNA on a stick.
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Dr. Glenda Gillaspy is leading this exhibit. In the Gillaspy lab, we are interested in how plants sense and respond to their environment. Specifically, the lab is focusing on enzymes that can break down the second messenger inositol triphosphate (IP3), which many organisms use to respond to various signals. For example, plants may respond to the presence of light or a change in gravity by initiating the rapid synthesis of IP3 which then triggers the release of intracellular calcium in the cell. To stop this signaling process, IP3 must be made inactive by sequential removal of its three phosphate groups. We have cloned the genes encoding 15 inositol phosphatases from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana for our studies. This is a small, cruciferous plant which has a short life cycle, completely sequenced genome, and is amenable to both genetics and genetic transformation. To gain a better understanding of how plants use IP3 in signaling, we have constructed transgenic plants which have altered levels of the inositol phosphatases and IP3 levels. Based on their growth and development, we know that these plants are altered in their signaling responses which could help us design future strategies to combat drought and low nutrient soils.