Fruit Fly Egg Chamber
The ‘Fruit Fly Egg Chamber’ temporary tattoo was designed for the Ma lab group to represent their research as part of the Tattoo my Science project.
Fruit Fly Egg Chamber
You may find fruit flies (aka Drosophila) on ripe fruit in your kitchen. Drosophila are used in labs at the Gurdon Institute as an animal model.
Humans and fruit flies share about 75% of the same disease-causing genes. By studying how fruit fly eggs develop, we can learn how larger animals (like whole humans) develop.
Design by Andy Li
Ma Lab Group
Mitochondrial DNA transmission and maintenance
In addition to the nuclear genome, all animals have another genome packed inside the mitochondrion called mtDNA. This maternally inherited genome encodes important proteins for energy production. During development and ageing as mtDNA continues to replicate and turnover, mutations can occur to some of the copies. The subsequent prevalence of these mutants, which determines the progression and inheritance of the clinical abnormalities of mitochondrial disorders, depends on how they compete with the co-existing wild-type genomes for transmission. To date, over 50 mtDNA-linked disorders have been described in humans.
Meet Hansong Ma
In this video Hansong describes her work on the DNA contained in mitochondria, a second genome that we inherit from our mothers.
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