Epigenome Dynamics During DNA Replication

Purpose

Epigenetics, the study of structural or chemical modifications of chromosomes that affect how genetic traits are expressed, is an exciting new area of biology. However, very little is yet known about the processes that transmit these structural or chemical modifications - known as "epigenetic marks" - through the multiple rounds of DNA replication and cell division that are required to make a plant or animal. Understanding this cell-to-cell transmission requires understanding events occurring only during the small part of the cell cycle in which DNA is synthesized ("S-phase").

Studying the sequence of events through the replication cycle will help to understand the molecular mechanisms that lead to formation active or inactive structures at different places along a chromosome. Similar techniques applied to mutant plants with known defects in chromosome structure or function may help highlight even more subtle control mechanisms. The results are expected to provide a better understanding of how genes are affected by structural and chemical modifications of DNA and the chromosomes in which it is housed.

Funding Source(s)

• National Science Foundation IOS-1025830