“Ecotoxicogenomics of Daphnia Magna”

Prof.  Chris Vulpe,  Nutritional Science and Toxicology, College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley

Differential gene expression (DGE) of Daphnia magna to toxicants is a useful technique in finding genetic biomarkers within the D. magna genome, which can provide a more comprehensive and diagnostic approach to monitor emergent contaminants leeching into the environment and understand its effect on the aquatic ecosystem.  Exposure of D. magna to certain toxicants may yield a specific set of differential gene expression for each compound.  The differential gene expression will be analyze to determine what specific genes are turned on or off during toxicant exposure.  In this research, we implemented DGE and genomic technology as an approach to create individual biomarkers for certain compounds and pollutants in the ecosystem.  In studying DGE of D. magna, we can understand how these compounds affect aquatic ecosystems and maybe someday provide a detail understanding of how these chemicals affect the biological pathway or to organisms in constant exposure to emergent contaminants.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rathana is a Molecular Toxicology major in the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. He attended City College of San Francisco. A child of the “Killing Fields” in Cambodia, Rathana will be the first male out of 12 siblings to achieve an education at a higher institution. As an active member of Alpha Gamma Sigma and UNICEF, Rathana plans on pursuing a career in Optometry as a foundation for his philanthropic desires in curbing the poverty in impoverished places.   He is a recipient of the Goldman Scholarship and a Biology fellow at CCSF.