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Objectives and Approaches

Chromatin plays a central role in gene expression during eukaryotic development and mediates epigenetic phenomena. Our goal is to determine the mechanisms that contribute to chromatin-based control of gene expression using maize, a premier model for these studies.

With prior funding we discovered ~300 genes in maize that encode putative chromatin regulatory proteins and produced ~100 maize RNA interference (RNAi) lines with reduced chromatin gene expression. Our current goals include: to identify additional maize chromatin genes, including RNA-based silencing genes; to complete a comprehensive set of chromatin mutants for maize (~50 new RNAi lines and ~100 recessive mutations); test function by assaying all lines for (1) paramutation and epigenetic variegation; (2) transgene silencing; (3) loss of imprinting; (4) DNA methylation; (5) histone modification of repetitive elements; (6) changes in gene and transposon expression profiles; and (6) chromosome cytology.

New vectors will enable high-throughput screens of subnuclear localization and protein-protein interactions. The combination of expression data, phylogenies, and functional data will inform the relationship between gene structure and function.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSF-DBI-0421619. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. © 2006–2010 The University of Arizona. All contents copyrighted. All rights reserved.