Developing RNA interference in wing polymorphic crickets
Caroline Williams, Professor
Integrative Biology
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
The Williams Lab in the Department of Integrative Biology studies the life history and physiology of the California variable field cricket. Crickets are a model system to study how animals can adjust energetic investments to activity, reproduction, and maintenance throughout their lifetime because there are winged and wingless types within populations. To understand the physiological and genetic regulation of flight, we will be developing RNA interference to knock down gene expression of candidate genes. Once we have validated that RNA interference was able to knock down gene expression, we will test the effects of these genes on flight muscle maintenance and reproductive development in adults but also in juvenile crickets, trying to understand their role in the decision to become winged or wingless.
Role: The undergraduate will work with lab technician Tomas Diaz to design primers for double- stranded RNA synthesis and synthesize double-stranded RNA for candidate genes. They will administer the double-stranded RNA via injection, then use qPCR to measure the extent of the knockdown.
They will learn the theoretical and practical aspects of lab techniques including RNA interference, measuring gene expression, and micro-dissections. They will carry out animal husbandry on our cricket colonies.
Qualifications: No previous research experience required. Required traits: reliable, detail-oriented, excited about science, steady hands, willing to handle crickets including injecting, euthanizing, and dissecting them. Desirable but not essential: experience reading primary literature, work experience with good references, some molecular biology or physiology coursework.
Undergraduates in the Williams lab attend lab meetings and take part in the intellectual life of the lab. They interact with graduate students and the PI and have the opportunity to form long-term mentoring relationships. For exceptional students, there may be opportunities to contribute to a publication or present at a conference. Students often stay in the lab for multiple semesters and contribute to diverse research projects including independent research and honors theses.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Tomas Diaz, Staff Researcher
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Related website: http://cmwilliamslab.com
Biological & Health Sciences