Aim: This project examines the function and regulation of histone lysine crotonylation in the mouse brain, in order to better understand the gut-brain axis.

Experiments: In the drinking water experiment, we added a crotonate solution of varying concentration to the drinking water of mice, sacrificed and dissected the mice, and extracted the histones from their brains for a Western blot that determined the level of histone crotonylation. In the N2A experiment, we treated N2A cells with a crotonate solution of varying concentration and then lysed the cells to extract their histones for a Western blot.

Results: The N2A Western blot showed a higher level of lysine crotonylation in the cells grown in crotonate solution compared to mice grown in control media, and that this effect increased when crotonate concentration was higher. The results of the Western blot for the drinking water experiment were inconclusive: similar levels of crotonylation were seen for both the control and experimental mice.