Thesis subject
Antidiabetic effects of plant derived compounds at the transcriptome level
The demand for new plant derived drugs against diseases like diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing. DM is a disease that is characterized by high blood glucose levels. There are two main types of DM: type 1 and type 2 diabetes, type 2 can be treated with oral drugs. However, current pharmaceutical drugs may have undesirable side effects or do not control the blood glucose levels well. In the search for new drugs, plant derived antidiabetic drugs may provide an alternative option devoid of these effects. Here we will investigate the effects of plant derived tea extracts using transcriptomics.
In the present study, the effect of plant extracts will be investigated in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans using microarray analysis or RNAseq. C. elegans is a tiny free-living, nematode which is found in temperate soil. This nematode is a widely used model species for a range of biological experiments because it is easy to culture, has a rapid reproduction rate and short generation time. C. elegans can resemble certain aspects of human pathology, which makes it a good model to study the disease pathology of several diseases like DM in detail. Thesis work includes C. elegans experimentation, transcriptome analysis, gene enrichment analysis and functional interpretation.
Are you interested in this subject? Please contact: Jan Kammenga