Kevin Helwick

kevster121mail.fresnostate.edu



The research I will be conducting involves two strains of Caenorhabditis briggsae: AF16 and HK104. I will be crossing the mitochondrial genome of AF16 with the nuclear genome of HK104 creating a cybrid. These strains are perfectly healthy for a couple generations, then somewhere around the tenth generation they start becoming sick (or not as fit). I will be creating new hybrid lines to discover why these hybrid worms have reduced fitness.