Exploring Ancestral Sequences
Session Number
Project ID: BIO 13
Advisor(s)
Dr. Keith Gagnon; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Discipline
Biology
Start Date
20-4-2022 10:25 AM
End Date
20-4-2022 10:40 AM
Abstract
Ancestral sequence reconstruction, commonly abbreviated as ASR, is a method used to estimate the sequence and properties of an extinct organism’s genes. Exploring ancestral sequences has shown the possibility of resurrecting ancient genes for use in current research. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR, is used in prokaryotes as their antiviral system. Cas9, an enzyme associated with CRISPR, can be used to cut DNA at specific locations. This has made CRISPR Cas9 a topic of interest as a tool for genetic editing, and by extension its evolutionary history is important to study. Therefore, ancestral sequence reconstruction can be used in order to understand CRISPR Cas9 and its history. The sequences discovered can provide information on its evolution and development as a biotech tool, which will be valuable insight in the genetic engineering field. In this project, I investigate various strains of CRISPR Cas9 and other relating sequences using the maximum likelihood method of ancestral sequence reconstruction to find their closest relative ancestors. This can provide insight into the evolution history of different Cas9 strains, and eventually their use at a larger scale.
Creative Commons License
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Exploring Ancestral Sequences
Ancestral sequence reconstruction, commonly abbreviated as ASR, is a method used to estimate the sequence and properties of an extinct organism’s genes. Exploring ancestral sequences has shown the possibility of resurrecting ancient genes for use in current research. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR, is used in prokaryotes as their antiviral system. Cas9, an enzyme associated with CRISPR, can be used to cut DNA at specific locations. This has made CRISPR Cas9 a topic of interest as a tool for genetic editing, and by extension its evolutionary history is important to study. Therefore, ancestral sequence reconstruction can be used in order to understand CRISPR Cas9 and its history. The sequences discovered can provide information on its evolution and development as a biotech tool, which will be valuable insight in the genetic engineering field. In this project, I investigate various strains of CRISPR Cas9 and other relating sequences using the maximum likelihood method of ancestral sequence reconstruction to find their closest relative ancestors. This can provide insight into the evolution history of different Cas9 strains, and eventually their use at a larger scale.