Researcher from the Faculty of Biological Sciences with Preludium grant
Preludium 22 from NCN for research projects was won by Anna Dudzik, who carries out her research at the Faculty of Biological Sciences in the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of Vertebrates.
Under the supervision of prof. dr. hab. Maria Ogielska (supervisor) and dr Magdalena Chmielewska (associate supervisor and team leader in the Amphibian Biology Group), she is investigating the „Komórkowe mechanizmu hybrydogenezy u zagrożonej europejskiej mieszańcowej żaby Pelophylax grafi”. Funding from NCN is almost PLN 70,000.
What is Hybridogenesis? – It is a unique biological process that modifies gametogenesis, i.e. the formation of eggs and sperm, and allows interspecies hybrids to reproduce, explains our researcher. – Hybridogenesis requires two steps: the elimination of one set of parental chromosomes from the sex line and the endoreplication of the remaining set, which enables meiosis and the production of clonal gametes. The mechanism of genome elimination by chromosome deletion in micronuclei that detach from cell nuclei has been studied in the well-known green water frog Pelophylax esculentus (a natural hybrid between P. ridibundus and P. lessonae) by the Team I joined. The problem to be solved in my project is to define the cytological mechanisms of genome elimination in another hybrid of the genus Pelophylax: P. grafi, whose genome contains ridibundus and perezi chromosomes. I will verify the hypothesis that the mechanism of genome elimination in P. grafi is the same as in P. esculentus and is therefore evolutionarily conservative among individuals of the genus Pelophylax.
As part of the research, he plans to carry out experiments to answer two main questions about P. hybrids: what is the genome composition of the germline cells and are micronuclei the carriers of the eliminated genome?
As part of this project, he will perform two tasks that will answer the questions posed and verify the research hypothesis:
– cytogenetics and genome composition in cells of the germline P. grafi and detection of the type of genome contained in micronuclei;
– a taxonomic study of tadpoles obtained from P.grafi – P.grafi backcrosses to detect whether the gametes of the hybrids transmit only one type of genome.
Why the interest in this particular area?
As Anna Dudzik adds: My interest in hybridogenesis arose already during my undergraduate studies, where, under the supervision of dr Beata Rozenblut-Kościsty, I worked on an experimental research project analysing histological scrapings of P. esculentus hybrid gonads, says our researcher. It was then that I was able to observe numerous mitotic and interphase abnormalities for the first time, which opened the door to the extraordinary world of this process for me. For me, the study of hybridogenesis and, above all, genome elimination, is about discovering an area that still hides many secrets from the world. I hope that, with a bit of luck, I will be able to make my contribution to understanding this fascinating process.
We wish our researcher and congratulate her on the grant!
And who else from the University of Wrocław has received Preludium and Opus grants read here:
Translated by Bartłomiej Dłubak (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
