Rebekkah Clauson

Abstract:

The balance between cell proliferation and quiescence or differentiation is an intricate process governed by the cell cycle, a highly regulated genetic mechanism. Here, we investigate the migration of sex myoblast cells (SM cells) in C.elegans to begin to elucidate the relationship between cell cycle and cell migration. To this end, we focused on comparing a mutant strain that has a 769 base pair depletion in the cdk-4 promoter to wildtype animals. This depletion affects the cell cycle state and thus prompted us to explore the migratory patterns and velocity of the mutant SM cells to those of the wildtype SM cells. Our data show that in mutant animals the SM cell migrates at significantly faster velocities. Suggesting a relationship between cell cycle state and cell migration velocity.