UROP Proceedings 2022-23

School of Science Division of Life Science 20 Human Complex Disease Genomics and Bioinformatics Supervisor: LIANG, Chun / LIFS Co-supervisor: XUE, Hong / LIFS Student: PON, Hau Man / BCB Course: UROP1000, Summer Progressive bioinformatics technology improves the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, raising the public health condition. The Alu element which is a common sequence that is widely distributed throughout the genome helps the whole DNA sequence scanning. This project investigates the genetic causes of human complex diseases like cancers, specifically brain metastasis. A series of experimental methods are used to study the mutation in brain metastasis and compare the whole genome between patients with the same disease, including DNA isolation from blood or tissue, inter-Alu PCR reaction, and amplification. The results showed that the method is feasible and accurate even with a small DNA sample requirement. Human Complex Disease Genomics and Bioinformatics Supervisor: LIANG, Chun / LIFS Co-supervisor: XUE, Hong / LIFS Student: ZHU, Jingjun / BIBU Course: UROP1100, Spring Cell proliferation and cell differentiation in all types of organisms are controlled by genes. Mutations in genes, such as substitutions, deletions, and insertions, which can be the result of either random mistakes in DNA replication or environmental exposures to mutagens and carcinogens, can cause a variety of diseases. To decipher the genetic causes of human complex diseases, including cancers and mental disorders, advanced genomic and bioinformatics technologies are used in this project. The primary experiments that have been conducted during this semester were the preparation work for next-generation sequencing. DNA Replication-initiation Proteins in Budding Yeast Supervisor: LIANG, Chun / LIFS Student: CHEUNG, Tung Po / ACCT Course: UROP1100, Fall This report will go over what I have learnt from this UROP Program in the 2022 fall semester. For most parts of the experiment, I showed my willingness to learn and dedication to the project by active involvement in the laboratory. To learn from the experiment, I studied the importance and learnt about the mechanism of ORC proteins. Throughout the project, I also learnt the cell culture technique, and how the ORC protein release was conducted and collected for studies. ORC (origin recognition complex) binds to and marks replication origins throughout the cell cycle and loads other replication-initiation proteins onto replication origins to form pre-replicative complexes (pre-RCs), completing replication licensing. Previously, our lab reported orc dimerization cycle in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the current study, human chromatin ORC release optimization experiments were performed using different conditions such as DNase 1 treatment, Micrococcal nuclease treatment and high salt buffer treatment. Our results showed that high salt treatment releases much of the ORC from the chromatin. Further optimization of the protocol will help to release the ORC for purification and modelling studies.

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