Insulin binding proteins are required for the maintenance of the nervous system.
Piper, Owen
Piper, Owen
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Abstract
Zig-4 immunoglobulin protein is a secreted element in C. elegans needed for postembryonic maintenance of the ventral nerve cord. The deletion of zig-4 results in a characteristic �axon flip�, where regions of the ventral nerve cord pass over the midline. More recently, zig-4 has been found associated with secreted insulin-like peptides, homologous to mammalian insulin binding proteins. Insulin peptides (ILPs) were suggested to rely on several amino acids linked with the hydrophobic bonding to the protein. Our research aims to ask whether zig-4�s ability to bind with insulin is required for functional maintenance of the animals� nerve cord. A C. elegans mutant targeted the relevant amino acid residues and was used to glean the relationship between zig-4, ILPs, and any downstream effects on animal morphology. The mutations were introduced using the CRISPR/Cas9 system on C. elegans containing a fluorescent marker to visualize the ventral nerve cord. CRISPR-edited animals were scored alongside zig-4 wild-type and zig-4 null mutant strains. Scoring revealed a significant degree of axon flip between both null mutant and CRISPR-edited animals, suggesting that the binding of insulin peptides to zig-4 is required to mediate C. elegans ventral nerve cord maintenance.
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Date
1/1/2026
Student Status
Sophomore (Graduating in 2028)
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Poster
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Biology, Plant Biology
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College of Arts and Sciences
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Life Science