The Role of SUMO and Coilin in the Cajal Body Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Volume 9 Issue 5 Special Issue - NIDDK STEP UP Article 101

2016

The Role of SUMO and Coilin in the Cajal Body

Shanya Whitehorse Mario Izaguirre-Sierra, PhD , Northern New Mexico College

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Recommended Citation Whitehorse, Shanya and Izaguirre-Sierra, PhD, Mario (2016) "The Role of SUMO and Coilin in the Cajal Body," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 9 : Iss. 5 , Article 101. Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol9/iss5/101

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Abstract Our lab is solely based on learning about the molecular biology of the cell nucleus using basic model organism such as plants and flies. eW focus on the study of the Cajal Body (CB) and specifically, we are interested to know how nuclear bodies can be formed without a membrane. The CB and the nucleolus are conserved nuclear bodies in all eukaryotic cells. CBs contain multiple proteins and RNA species involved in many pathways such as splicing, ribosome biogenesis and telomere maintenance.

Coilin is one of the main proteins in the nucleus and it is known to be required for CB formation. Thus, the purpose of my project is study the formation of the Cajal body in plants using a collection of mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Previous studies suggest that the Small Ubiquitin-like MOdifier (SUMO) is an important player in the formation of these and other nuclear bodies. SUMO is a small peptide that binds to multiple targets in the cell regulating growth, development and stress response in eukaryotes.

This summer, I screened SUMO mutant plants containing the fluorescent protein coilin in order to study the CB phenotype in these mutants. Also, I examined transgenic plants overexpressing SUMO and coilin proteins with different fluorescent markers. In conclusion, my work will help to understand the mechanism(s) of nuclear body formation and the basic biology of the CB in the cell.

Keywords Nuclear bodies; Cajal bodies; SUMO; Coilin

This article is available in Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/ jhdrp/vol9/iss5/101 140 The Role of SUMO and Coilin in the Cajal Body Whitehorse and Izaguirre-Sierra

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice Volume 9, Special Edition 1, Summer 2016, pp. 140 © 2011 Center for Health Disparities Research School of Community Health Sciences University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The Role of SUMO and Coilin in the Cajal Body

Shanya Whitehorse Mario Izaguirre-Sierra, PhD. Northern New Mexico College Coordinating Center: University of Nevada Las Vegas

ABSTRACT Our lab is solely based on learning about the molecular biology of the cell nucleus using basic model organism such as plants and flies. We focus on the study of the Cajal Body (CB) and specifically, we are interested to know how nuclear bodies can be formed without a membrane. The CB and the nucleolus are conserved nuclear bodies in all eukaryotic cells. CBs contain multiple proteins and RNA species involved in many pathways such as splicing, ribosome biogenesis and telomere maintenance. Coilin is one of the main proteins in the nucleus and it is known to be required for CB formation. Thus, the purpose of my project is study the formation of the Cajal body in plants using a collection of mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Previous studies suggest that the Small Ubiquitin-like MOdifier (SUMO) is an important player in the formation of these and other nuclear bodies. SUMO is a small peptide that binds to multiple targets in the cell regulating growth, development and stress response in eukaryotes. This summer, I screened SUMO mutant plants containing the fluorescent protein coilin in order to study the CB phenotype in these mutants. Also, I examined transgenic plants overexpressing SUMO and coilin proteins with different fluorescent markers. In conclusion, my work will help to understand the mechanism(s) of nuclear body formation and the basic biology of the CB in the cell.

Key words: Nuclear bodies, Cajal bodies, SUMO, Coilin.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The STEP-UP HS program is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, Grant number: 1R25DK098067-01.

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice Volume 9, Special Edition 1, 2016 The Pursuit of Young Researchers: NIDDK STEP-UP http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/