Abstract
Artificial sweeteners are promoted for their apparent medical benefits in regards to issues of weight control, diabetes, and tooth decay. The primary objective of this study was to collect information about how table sugar (sucrose) and three sugar substitutes Splenda (sucralose-based), Truvia (stevia-based) and Equal (aspartame-based) affect gene expression at varying concentrations. Regular yeast growthmedia, plus low (10 tsp/100 pounds), medium (34 tsp/100 pounds), and high (340 tsp/100 pounds) added concentrations of the sugar or sugar-substitutes were used. These concentrations were selected according to recently published literature based on the diet of typical American teenagers. Yeast were used as a model eukaryotic organism and the sugar or sugar substitute concentrations scaled for an environment of liquid yeast media in a 50 mL conical tube. These concentrations were selected to replicate hyperglycemic, moderate, and hypoglycemic diets. Since yeast share approximately 30% of their genome with humans, several conserved genes in the functional categories of digestion, kinases, transcription, cell cycle, ion channels, and chaperones were targeted in this study. The relative degree of expression of these genes (via reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and gel electrophoresis) at the three concentrations of the four substances, and also the typical yeast growth-medium were compared resulting in particular gene expression profiles for the selected genes in each environmental condition. Findings of particular interest included the lack of expression of SUC2 (digestion gene) and YHC3 (ion channel gene), and more consistently high expression of DAP2 and GIP1 (digestion genes) among the tested environments.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Emily Schmitt
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-13-2012 1:00 PM
End Date
4-13-2012 5:30 PM
The Effects of Various Concentrations of Sugar and Sugar Substitutes (Sucralose, Stevia, and Aspartame) on Gene Expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast)
Alvin Sherman Library
Artificial sweeteners are promoted for their apparent medical benefits in regards to issues of weight control, diabetes, and tooth decay. The primary objective of this study was to collect information about how table sugar (sucrose) and three sugar substitutes Splenda (sucralose-based), Truvia (stevia-based) and Equal (aspartame-based) affect gene expression at varying concentrations. Regular yeast growthmedia, plus low (10 tsp/100 pounds), medium (34 tsp/100 pounds), and high (340 tsp/100 pounds) added concentrations of the sugar or sugar-substitutes were used. These concentrations were selected according to recently published literature based on the diet of typical American teenagers. Yeast were used as a model eukaryotic organism and the sugar or sugar substitute concentrations scaled for an environment of liquid yeast media in a 50 mL conical tube. These concentrations were selected to replicate hyperglycemic, moderate, and hypoglycemic diets. Since yeast share approximately 30% of their genome with humans, several conserved genes in the functional categories of digestion, kinases, transcription, cell cycle, ion channels, and chaperones were targeted in this study. The relative degree of expression of these genes (via reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and gel electrophoresis) at the three concentrations of the four substances, and also the typical yeast growth-medium were compared resulting in particular gene expression profiles for the selected genes in each environmental condition. Findings of particular interest included the lack of expression of SUC2 (digestion gene) and YHC3 (ion channel gene), and more consistently high expression of DAP2 and GIP1 (digestion genes) among the tested environments.
