Analysis of Position Effect Variegation Using the Switch Monitoring System in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

The work outlined throughout the following chapters was completed from December 2016 to October 2021 and examines Position Effect Variegation (PEV) using the Switch Monitoring (SwiM) system. PEV is a phenomenon of heterochromatin biology in which genetically identical cells exhibit differing expression states of euchromatic genes juxtaposed to heterochromatin. The study of PEV has been reliant on the final outcome of these expression states as limitations in scientific observation have prevented a more detailed analysis of the mechanism behind this final pattern. My graduate work utilized a novel fluorescence reporting system, the SwiM system, that allowed us to record and analyze PEV throughout the development of Drosophila melanogaster. The results reported here inform our understanding of the natural fluctuations in heterochromatic silencing that leads to PEV.