GOALS OF THE CENTER
Increase
awareness of University at Albany as a center of excellence in molecular genetics. Coordination
of graduate, postdoctoral and faculty recruitment. Enhancement
of research environment through collaborations and shared resources.
CENTER DESCRIPTION
Although representing diverse biological systems, an essential aspect of research in the Center for Molecular Genetics is the use of in vitro genetic research tools to explore fundamental aspects of the structure, expression and regulation of the genetic material. Participation in Center activities provides faculty, postdoctoral research associates, and graduate students with state-of-the-art research tools through shared core facilities (such as automated DNA sequencers and synthesizers). Collaboration between Center members and other molecular biologists in the region is facilitated by a series of seminars and research conferences. These include an annual conference on novel aspects of molecular biology or genetics that has attracted international acclaim. The research activities of Center faculty, conducted on organisms ranging from bacteria to primates, has an excellent record of external funding from Federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Postdoctoral
Research Associates
Administration
of Annual Conferences
RNA: Catalysis,Splicing,
Evolution Ion Channels:Molecular
Structure & Genetics Converging
Approaches in Computational Biology Molecular
and Cellular Responses to Oxygen Patterns of
Biological Organization RecombinantVectors
in Vaccine Development Molecular
Mechanisms of Drug Resistance RNA Editing:
An Evolving Mechanism of Gene Regulation Phylogenetic
& Structural Relationships Among Proteins Frontiers
in Mitochondrial Research Biomolecular
Motors and Nanomachines
Dmitry Belostotsky,
assistant professor;dab@albany.edu
We are investigating how plant gene expression is regulated at posttranscriptional
level. Specifically, we are studying poly(A)binding proteins (PABPs) in the
model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.We are also using yeast as a heterologous
model in which molecular aspects of plant PABPs action can be tested. Although
PABP is essential for viability in yeast and is thought to increase translational
initiation and initiate RNA turnover, little is known about the mechanisms
involved, particularly in higher eukaryotes. We have demonstrated that small
genome of Arabidopsis contains large and divergent multigene family encoding
PABPs, and that individual PABP genes are under unique developmental control.
One of the genes, expressed exclusively in reproductive tissues, complements
PABP-deficient yeast, demonstrating that basic PABP-dependent pathways of
mRNA turnover and translational initiation have been conserved in evolution.Current
work is directed towards the elucidation of the functions of individual PABP
genes, particularly those expressed in reproductive organs of Arabidopsis.
Richard P.
Cunningham, professor; moose@albany.edu
My laboratory is working on DNA repair mechanisms and DNA repair enzymes.
We are using a concerted program of structural analysis, biochemistry and
genetics to understand how organisms respond to DNA damage caused by environmental
factors, as well as endogenous processes that produce genotoxic compounds.
We have chosen E. coli as a model system and are studying a number of enzymes
and genes involved in base excision repair. Structural studies complemented
by site-directed mutagenesis are being used to probe enzyme mechanisms. Genetic
studies are focused on the regulation of DNA repair genes in response to environmental
stress. Since DNA repair enzymes are highly conserved throughout nature, these
studies are highly relevant to processes in eucaryotes including aging and
carcinogenesis.
Joseph P. Mascarenhas,
professor, jm558@albany.edu
The laboratory is interested in the regulation of gene activity during differentiation
in plants with aspecial interest in the development of the male and female
gametes. Several genes expressed duringmale and female development have been
isolated. Transgenic plants have been constructed with aview to identifying
the functions of several of the isolated genes in male gametophyte development.We
have recently discovered retroelements that are transcribed in early microspores
in maize. Thepotential importance of retroelements in genome evolution and
male gametophyte development arebeing studied.
. Robert Osuna,
associate professor;osuna@albany.edu
The understanding of how specific interactions between a DNA binding protein
and DNA can affect various DNA functions is of fundamental importance in molecular
biology. This laboratory focuses on the study of the DNA-binding and -bending
protein Fis (Factor for Inversion Stimulation) in E. coli. We wish to understand:
1) how Fis protein interacts with DNA and other proteins to modify gene expression,
2) how the expression of Fis itself (which displays an unusual pattern of
regulation) is regulated in the cell, and 3) what novel genes are being regulated
by Fis. A variety of genetic and biochemical approaches will be used to gain
insight into these processes both in vivo and in vitro.
David Shub,
professor; shub@albany.edu
Our lab studies the origin and function of self-splicing introns in bacteria.
1. Origin: RNA splicing has been described as already existing in a
prebiotic RNA World or, alternatively, as a relatively recent addition to
the genetic apparatus. We are attempting to resolve this controversy by tracing
the evolutionary history of self-splicing introns in diverse lineages of bacteria
and bacterial viruses. 2. Function: Thepersistence of introns in the
compact genomes of bacteria and their viruses suggests that they have a selective
value. We are exploring the possibility that splicing is inhibited under certain
conditions of growth and that regulation of splicing may be used to regulate
gene expression. Techniques employed in these studies include genome analysis
by PCR and DNA probes, in vitro mutagenesis, gene fusions, and functional
assays for RNA splicing in vivo and in vitro.
Caro-Beth Stewart,
associate professor; cs812@albany.edu
The research in my laboratory is aimed at understanding the molecular basis
for adaptive evolution in complex organisms. Currently, our major project
focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the independent evolution of
foregut fermentation in the ruminants and leaf-eating colobine monkeys. Specifically,
we are studying the sequence and functional evolution of two enzymes, stomach
lysozyme and pancreatic ribonuclease, which help these mammalian species digest
the foregut bacteria. As a framework for these comparative studies we are
determining the molecular phylogeny of the colobine monkeys by sequencing
and analyzing appropriate mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Future studies
on this project will include in vitro analysis of lysozyme and ribonuclease
gene expression, as well as site-specific mutagenesis of these gene products.
Richard
S. Zitomer, professor; rz144@albany.edu
Our research focuses on the mechanisms by which the model eucaryote yeast
regulates the expression of its genes in response to oxygen. There are at
least three distinct sets of oxygen regulated genes. The first includes a
large number of nuclear genes that encode mitochondrial functions involved
in respiration; transcription of this set is activated in the presence of
oxygen. The second set includes a number of alternate respiratory functions;
transcription of these genes is repressed in high oxygen levels. We combine
classical yeast genetics and current molecular techniques to identify and
clone the regulatory genes and to study the target DNA sequences with which
they interact.
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