Ph.D. candidate Manasi Apte wins first place at 2013 Wayne State Graduate Exhibition

The Department of Biological Sciences is extremely proud to announce that Manasi Apte, a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Victoria Meller, won first-place recognition for her poster "Targeted Gene Conversion, An Efficient Method To Engineer Endogenous Genes " in the 2013 Graduate Exhibition.

The poster describes the development of a new genetic tool for the introduction of novel or modified DNA sequences into preselected sites in the Drosophila melanogaster genome. The technique is called Targeted Gene Conversion or TGC. TGC involves a multi-step protocol in which the introduced sequence is incorporated into the genome through the utilization of a P element.

Subsequent steps include the induction of double-stranded DNA breaks associated with remobilization of the P element followed by gap repair and gene conversion using the modified sister chromatid sequence. Proof of concept demonstrated a high rate of successful TGC in progeny flies.

There is no doubt that this technique will be greatly exploited by the Drosophila genetics community. Congratulations to Manasi and Dr. Meller.