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TETRAD FACULTY
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Chromosome Structure and Function
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The research program in my laboratory has two main, complementary directions. The first concerns the defined, three-dimensional folding patterns of Drosophila chromosomes and possible changes in the three-dimensional architecture as a function of development. The polytene chromosomes have been chosen as a model for interphase nuclei in which the primary cellular functions of transcription and replication take place. The results indicate defined folding patterns of interphase chromosomes in polytene nuclei within larval organs and in diploid nuclei in early embryos. Efforts are also directed to ask questions as to function and three-dimensional structure of interphase chromosomes; do the mechanisms of maintaining such order play any role in complex genetic phenomena? Many new techniques, especially tailored for three-dimensional structure, have been developed for these studies, in collaboration with David Agard. These methods, coupled with computer image processing methods, give new insights into the structure of the nucleus at high resolution.
The second research direction is the analysis of the fine structure of interphase diploid and polytene chromosomes. Our laboratory has found that the chromosomes are highly ordered structures, as shown 3-dimensionally by several electron microscope techniques. The results gathered so far in the two research directions indicate that it should be possible to derive a clear relationship between chromosome structure and function.
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| Featured paper | | Quail-duck chimeras reveal spatiotemporal plasticity in molecular and histogenic programs of cranial
Schneider lab | | Download the pdf |
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Faculty
