Spotlight on research: From folic acid to marine sensors

This week's Spotlight on Research is with Dr Anne Parle-McDermott Senior Lecturer in Genetics, DCU School of Biotechnology

You work on a tiny but important B-vitamin called folic acid. Why is it so important?

“Folic acid is involved in lots of processes in the body. We know that if a woman has low folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy, there’s a higher risk of the baby being born with a developmental condition such as spina bifida.

Also not having enough folic acid in adulthood has been linked with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and decline in brain function.

There are even links between the way our bodies process folic acid and our risk of cancer.”

What has your lab been discovering about how our bodies use folic acid?

“A few years ago my lab discovered that a human gene called dihydrofolate reductase 2, or DHFR-2 for short, has a role in how embryos develop early on, and that it is involved in processing folic acid.

So we are looking more deeply at what that gene does and how it affects folic acid in our cells.”

You are just starting a big new project on that, is that correct?

“Yes we just got a grant from Science Foundation Ireland and the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for more than 600,000 Euro to look at this, which we are very pleased about.

The project will be with Professor Nicholas Greene in University College London. It’s a perfect partnership because I am a functional geneticist so I am working out the function of the DHFR-2 gene in cells grown in the lab, and he is a neurodevelopmental biologist, so he is looking at how the gene behaves more broadly in living beings.”

Between us we will get a better understanding of folic acid in development, particularly in cells that are growing and dividing.”

And what about folic acid and ageing?

“That’s another project in my lab. My PhD student Darren Walsh has just won a scholarship from the Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes for Health to look at how levels of folic acid affect a type of DNA in cells called mitochondrial DNA.

This DNA tends to get compromised as we get older, mistakes build up in it, and we want to see if folic acid has a protective role.

That project will be with Dr. Lawrence Brody at the National Human Genome Research Institute in Maryland, USA.”

You have a busy research lab – what keeps you going?

“I think it’s that feeling when I come up with a new idea that no-one has ever thought of and it’s up to me to prove or disprove it.

I love doing that. I also love solving technical challenges in the lab, where maybe something isn’t working and we try different ways to figure it out.

It’s frustrating but then really satisfying when we solve it. And I enjoy talking to other people about the work at conferences or meetings, getting their insights and opinions.”

And what’s the hardest part about being a researcher?

“It has to be getting research funding, because it can feel like you are not being very productive when you spend so much time looking for funding. It’s great when you get funding though, and you can move forward with projects.”

How has DCU supported your work?

“I have had tremendous support from School of Biotechnology, the mentorship programme run by HR, the Research Office and the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology.

Without the core facilities and the expertise in DCU I would not have won those two big grants recently. Also DCU has so many researchers who are willing to collaborate.”

Such as?

“Well I am about to start some work with Prof Fiona Regan in DCU Water Institute. We are going to develop biosensors and deploy them at a marine site in Mayo.”

And what will they be sensing?

“Atlantic salmon. When they are in the water they shed DNA, so if you sample the water you can test to see if their DNA is present. We are building this sensor to detect that DNA in the environment.”

That’s a jump from folic acid!

“The common element here is my ability to find specific genes. When I was looking for the human DHFR-2 gene I had to find it among many other similar genes, and I’m applying that kind of expertise here to find Atlantic salmon DNA in the mix of genetic material in the water.

Being able to detect DNA will help the Marine Institute at Burrishole Catchment to more easily keep track of Atlantic salmon and monitor biodiversity and the effect of climate change.”