DOI

10.30707/1783354831.720145

Document Type

Senior Thesis

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Committee Chair

Thomas Hammond

Committee Member

Wade Nichols

Abstract

Neurospora crassa is a fungus that has been used to study genetics, more specifically, meiotic gene drive through its spore killing abilities. Meiotic drive describes a process in which selfish genetic elements bias Mendelian genetics to increase transmission to their offspring, eliminating any alleles that are sensitive. The spore killing mechanism of Neurospora’s Spore killer-3 (Sk-3) is an example of how meiotic drive works through a poison-antidote model. The Sk-3 genetic element consists of both a killing (poison) gene and a resistance (antidote) gene. The location of the resistance gene has been identified while the killing gene has not. To elucidate the mechanisms by which Sk-3 works, and to refine the location of the killing gene, I analyzed a DNA interval, called i401. Through a combination of qualitative deletion assays and quantitative gene drive assays, I have seen that deletion of interval i401 appears to partially disrupt spore killing but does not eliminate it entirely. These findings narrow the location of the spore killing gene and allow for a better understanding of how selfish meiotic drive elements work.

Funding Source

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (Award Number 200595, Elucidating the mechanism of meiotic drive by mRNA editing-mediated spore killing in Neurospora fungi).

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