Potential rotating student projects:

1. pH and/or calcium imaging in oocytes during meiotic maturation and fertilization.

• Construct vectors (molecular biology)
• Microinject worms (worm culture/transgene expression methods)
• 4D fluorescent imaging of transgenic strains (real-time physiology)
• Determine acid-base transport mechanisms involved (RNA interference)

2. Acid/base regulation during metabolic activation and recovery from dauer phase.

• Cross strains to obtain mutant signaling line expressing pH reporter (genetics)
• Test ability to go or to recover from dauer following decrease in pHi (RNAi and physiology)
• Measure changes in pHi in dauer and during recovery (real-time physiology)
• Correlate changes with aerobic respiratory vs. fermentative metabolism.

3. Nutrient uptake as influenced by intestinal acidification (RNAi, imaging)

• Real-time imaging and product accumulation/transport of

  i. Oligopeptides

  ii. Glucose

  iii. Cholesterol

  iv. Others?