Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2018
Capstone Advisor
Robert Silver
Honors Reader
Heather Coleman
Capstone Major
Biology
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
yes
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Biology | Life Sciences
Abstract
The overarching question of this project is how do cells make the decision to divide? Over the past century, essential metabolites including ATP and NADPH have been studied for their metabolic role in cellular processes such as cell division, inflammatory responses, DNA synthesis, and apoptosis. This work focuses on two enzymes that are involved in the production of these essential metabolites using sea urchin eggs and embryos as a model system. The specific activity of cytochrome c oxidase was found in unfertilized, fertilized, and parthenogenetically activated sea urchin eggs by monitoring the RED/OX state of cytochrome c at 550 nm. The specific activity at time “zero” for cytochrome c oxidase was approximately 3.8 fold higher for parthenogenetically activated eggs compared to unfertilized or fertilized eggs. This led us to develop a “Governor” hypothesis, which could potentially modulate mitochondrial activity. In addition, this work also discusses the enzyme NAD kinase, which transfers the 𝛾𝛾- phosphate from ATP to NADH yielding NADPH and ADP. The metabolites NAD+/NADH and NADP+/NADPH play essential roles for cell division and growth. They are used in reactions for post-translational modification, calcium signaling, fatty acid synthesis, and defense against reactive oxygen species. The redox ratios of these metabolites become important to consider because they can influence the steady state of the cell and drive or turn off different metabolic pathways. Thus, NAD kinase activity plays a regulatory role in production of these metabolites that are essential for cell growth and proliferation.
Recommended Citation
Castle, Patrick, "Analysis of Enzyme Activity Levels in Unfertilized, Fertilized, and Parthenogenetically Activated Sea Urchin Eggs" (2018). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 1183.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/1183
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
