TITLE:
The Role of Sunscreen in Mitigating UV-Induced Damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Yeast Respiration and Survival, as a Eukaryotic Model Organism
AUTHORS:
Thekla Kampani
KEYWORDS:
UV Radiation, Yeasts (Yeast Cells), Skin Cells, Cell Respiration (CO2 Rate, Cell Density)
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.15 No.12,
December
30,
2024
ABSTRACT: Mutagens are agents that cause damage to DNA and have the potential to permanently alter (mutate) its sequence, depending on the organism’s ability to repair the damage. UV radiation is a mutagen in cells. This mutagen relates to both yeast cells and human skin cells, since they have similar reactions. UV radiation can cause cell mutations, but also cell death. This is examined with the absence or presence of sunscreen when in contact with cells. Since yeast cells and human cells have almost identical metabolisms, data results of yeast experiments can be associated with real life. Hypothesis for the presence of sunscreen in yeast solutions includes the exposure of yeast cells with or without sunscreen for different time periods in UV radiation. However, the role of sunscreen in yeast cell mutations, in relation to cancer prevention, may not be directly positive. Here, I show that sunscreen has a positive effect on yeast cells and prevents mutations. I found that the respiration rate differs for yeast cells without or without the presence of sunscreen when exposed to radiation. Yeast cells without sunscreen respired faster than those exposed to UV radiation. However, with sunscreen, the rate of CO2 production was higher, with a higher respiration rate. These results may be connected with skin cancer to some extent, promoting or not the use of sunscreen to protect the skin cells from mutating. This experiment may be the base for further experimentation with different yeast cells, providing clearer and more assuring data about the association of sunscreen, yeast cells, and skin cancer. Such experiments may avoid implications with weather conditions, such as slightly different temperatures, sunlight intensity, and clouds, or with the time between the end of the time period of exposure of the yeast cells to UV radiation, and the measurement of CO2 and density, which my experiment had.