Proliferation in Larval Neural Crest Cells by Veronica Zhang

As a student who has always been interested in the field of biology, I have always paid extra attention to the workings of the brain. It never ceased to amaze me how electrical signals could be rapidly transported through a highway-like system in the brain to cause a miraculous reaction in an organism. The brain is the organ that we know least about, and the magic contained within it has befuddled scientists for centuries. 

Veronica Zhang

This three-pound organ in every one of us has fascinated me for years, and I would like to get hands-on experience with working with the brain and examining how it works. It is definitely a field that I would consider and choose to delve further into throughout my education and career. This experience will help provide me with a deeper look into the intricacy behind neuroscience.

Therefore, for my independent project, I have chosen to study the effects of substances that influence the brain like nicotine (cigarette smoke), n-Hexane, melatonin, and mercury on neurogenesis in fruit fly larvae. Regarding the cigarette smoke, I would like to pursue an experiment in which I compare the effects of electronic cigarette smoke to traditional cigarette smoke and see how they each affect neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is the growth and development of nervous tissues.  Through larval brain and disc dissection, I will be able to get access to the larval brain and see how the drugs impacted the brain. I will use phosphohistone H3 (pH3) staining to give myself a visual representation of the proliferation in the neural crest cells. The more positively stained cells that are in each sample, the more proliferation. Furthermore, I will apply separate environmental stressors, which are changes in circadian rhythms and temperature to my experiment.

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Before I begin my experiment, I predict that the larvae that are exposed to the different drugs from their embryonic stage will experience a negative impact to their central nervous systems, thus decreasing the rates of proliferation in the neural crest cells. I believe that my independent project will help quench my thirst for knowledge and will lead to me having an even deeper appreciation for neuroscience.

My first four weeks at TRIP have prepared me for the rigors that I will encounter during my independent project. I learned the lesson that scientific research is also about failure and learning from prior mistakes. I had trouble transferring my initial flies from my exploratory assay, which was female fertility. The picture to the right shows the method I utilized to transfer the flies from the vial to the collection cage. Through my struggles, I learned how to use negative geotaxis to my advantage, and this led to no more flies being lost during the transfer. I have been able to work on fly transfer and through my gained experience, I will have a stronger foundation for my independent project.

Transferring flies

The female fertility assay that I did during the first four weeks allowed me to get comfortable with working with the tiny flies, and it has given me the golden opportunity to learn more about the different assays that I can employ in my independent project. Furthermore, the female fertility assay that I conducted helped familiarize me with the lab equipment and protocols, which will improve my ability to perform my independent research. For example, the picture to the left above with the four collection cages shows my incubation period during my female fertility assay. Through that step, I learned how to properly make and handle grape plates, in order to encourage more flies to lay their embryos. I am looking forward to carrying out this exciting experiment and learning more about neuroscience!