GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE PAPER

GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE PAPER

How did someone figure out that carbon dioxide in the bloodstream is exchanged for oxygen in the lungs of mammals? And how do we know that hormones are produced by, for example, the pituitary gland and, moreover, that these hormones signal the body to grow. These and many other questions have been answered by means of the scientific method. Scientists form hypotheses, experiment, collect data, and draw conclusions from this data that is then applied to answering questions about that certain topic. Some research seems to be obselete and/or practically useless, only to come into the picture years or decades later and shift the field of science. Although at times it is difficult to say what the repercussions of a particular study will be, it is not uncommon for that very study to play a key role in a major scientific breakthrough later. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that although a particular study may not seem to be important at the time, later it could be the most significant study in the field.

This study performed by Min Wu and Dr. Marc E. Tischler, at first glance may appear to have a narrow focus, but upon furthur consideration, one realizes that its findings have applications to any number of related topics. In this experiment, Wu and Tischler tracked what paths a specific protein, arylophorin, and followed its production and distribution throughout the body of Manduca sexta pharate adults. Their first goal was to determine the most efficient method for producing radioactively labeled arylophorin, called 14C-Arylphorin. Their second goal, and purpose of the experiment, was to compare the distribution of C14-Arylophorin to that of 14C phenylalanine (radiolabeled as well) in/throughout the bodies of pharate adults, determining the function of the arylphorin protein (storage or directly utilized in the construction of tissues). First they found ideal conditions for producing radioactively labeled arylophorin (using an incubated Manduca Sexta fat body under experimentally defined conditions. Then, using the labeled arylphorin, they determined that injected 14C-phenylalanine and 14C-arylphorin followed similar patterns of disribution.

These results may be applied to any number of questions regarding the development of insects, and possibly humans. The distribution pattern of arylphorin gives hints as to its purpose in the insect body and development, which in turn can lead to a deeper understanding of how and why certain biological processes occcur. In the future, it is conceiveable that this knowledge may be applied in answering similar quesions in humans or other organisms--all from simply investigating an unknown protein function in an insect with the purpose of answering a question that had remained directly unaddressed in the literature.


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SCOTT SMORRA, NAT JOHNSON, CRISTINE BERRY, MARINELA RODRIGUEZ, MARY OLIVER, TARA DAVIS, ELYSE EARNEST
GROUP 12 DECEMBER 1, 1996