Analysis of Cytoskeletal and Motility Proteins in the Sea Urchin Genome Assembly
R.L. Morris 1, M.P. Hoffman 2, R.A. Obar 3, S.S. McCafferty 1, I.R. Gibbons 4, A.D. Leone 2, J. Cool 1, E.L. Allgood 1, A.M. Musante 1, K.M. Judkins 1,
B.J. Rossetti 1, A.P. Rawson 1, D.R. Burgess 2.
Developmental Biology (in press).

1Department of Biology, Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts 02766; 2 Department of Biology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 0246; 3Tethys Research, LLC, 53 Downing Road, Bangor, Maine 04401; 4Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

Abstract
The sea urchin embryo is a classical model system for studying the role of the cytoskeleton in such events as fertilization, mitosis, cleavage, cell migration and gastrulation. We have conducted an analysis of gene models derived from the Strongylocentrotus purpuratus genome assembly and have gathered strong evidence for the existence of multiple gene families encoding cytoskeletal proteins and their regulators in sea urchin. While many cytoskeletal genes have been cloned from sea urchin with sequences already existing in public databases, genome analysis reveals a significantly higher degree of diversity within certain gene families. Furthermore, genes are described corresponding to homologs of cytoskeletal proteins not previously documented in sea urchins. To illustrate the varying degree of sequence diversity that exists within cytoskeletal gene families, we conducted an analysis of genes encoding actins, specific actin-binding proteins, myosins, tubulins, kinesins, dyneins, specific microtubule-associated proteins, and intermediate filaments. We conducted ontological analysis of select genes to better understand the relatedness of urchin cytoskeletal genes to those of other deuterostomes. We analyzed developmental expression (EST) data to confirm the existence of select gene models and to understand their differential expression during various stages of early development.

Redistribution of the kinesin-II subunit KAP from cilia to nuclei during the mitotic and ciliogenic cycles in sea urchin embryos
R.L. Morris 1, C.N. English 1, J.E. Lou 1, F.J. Dufort 1, J.J. Nordberg 1, M. Terasaki 2, B. Hinkle 2.
Developmental Biology 274:56-69. 2004.

1Wheaton College, Norton, MA; 2University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington CT

Abstract
KAP is the non-motor subunit of the heteromeric plus-end directed microtubule (MT) motor protein kinesin-II essential for normal cilia formation. Studies in Chlamydomonas have demonstrated that kinesin-II drives the anterograde intraflagellar transport (IFT) of protein complexes along ciliary axonemes. We used a green fluorescent protein (GFP) chimera of KAP, KAP-GFP, to monitor movements of this kinesin-II subunit in cells of sea urchin blastulae where cilia are retracted and rebuilt with each mitosis. As expected if involved in IFT, KAP-GFP localized to apical cytoplasm, basal bodies, and cilia, and became concentrated on basal bodies of newly forming cilia. Surprisingly, after ciliary retraction early in mitosis, KAP-GFP moved into nuclei before nuclear envelope breakdown, was again present in nuclei after nuclear envelope reformation, and only decreased in nuclei as ciliogenesis reinitiated. Nuclear transport of KAP-GFP could be due to a putative nuclear localization signal and nuclear export signals identified in the sea urchin KAP primary sequence. Our observation of a protein involved in IFT being imported into the nucleus after ciliary retraction and again after nuclear envelope reformation suggests KAP115 may serve as a signal to the nucleus to reinitiate cilia formation during sea urchin development.

North East Undergraduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (N.E.U.R.O.N.), April 2000
AUTHOR: Sue Adams
TITLE: Maternal Stress Predicts Child Shyness at Age 4
ABSTRACT:Data suggest that maternal or prenatal stress can influence child temperament in a number of ways. It has been shown that stress during pregnancy causes an alteration in hypothamic-pituatary-adrenal axis, which may result in behavioral inhibition when placed in social situations. Maternal stress, however, might also be mediated by the mother's personality; specifically by her sense of optimism about negative events. This study investigated the relationship between stress and anxiety during pregnancy, optimism, and a child's level of shyness through a series of maternal and teacher questionnaires, as well as child observations. The results indicated that state anxiety during pregnancy is a significant predictor of childhood shyness, although optimism was not found to be a significant mediator. This data suggest that if pregnant women are aware of their stress and anxiety during pregnancy, they may be able to take precautions against the effects of stress on their developing fetus.