Identification of the sit still gene – shaky suspicions about flies, fats and multiple sclerosis

Mandal, Shreelekha

Student Work

Identification of the sit still gene – shaky suspicions about flies, fats and multiple sclerosis

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Lipids are known to be important for proper cellular and metabolic functions. Lipid disorders include Tay Sach's, Gaucher's, Neimann-Pick, diabetes, adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), and macular degeneration. Macular degeneration has been linked to mutations in a lipid elongase, of which 7 exist in humans and 20 in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. To understand the contributions of elongases to development, I surveyed their function in Drosophila using RNAi. I identified sit still (sit), whose phenotype suggests a model for neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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