Pairing of homologous chromosomes: Physical arrangement and functional consequences in development

• Antragstellerin: Dr. Donna Arndt-Jovin
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Biophysik
• Förderung: Förderung von 1998 bis 2007
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 5105922

The goal of this project is to understand the physical basis for chromosome recognition and pairing and the extent to which this occurs in diploid interphase nuclei. In the first support period we investigated homolog pairing of single-copy genes in the Bithorax complex (BX-C) in whole mount Drosophila embryos by FISH and high resolution confocal microscopy. Genes of the BX-C show transvection, the phenomenon by which genes are regulated in trans. We tested transvection models which postulate direct pairing and/or looping of the DNA strands compared to those which postulate transport of macromolecules from juxtaposed loci. Our data were able to eliminate the latter model. We have determined the proximity of homologous chromosomes as a function of embryo and tissue development for these genes and are extending these studies to other loci. Mutants with translocations, insertions and deletions in the genetic loci are under investigation. The next phase focusses on the questions: how flexible interphase chromosomes are, how mutants in various genes affect the onset or extent of pairing, and what forces are involved in chromosome movement. In the final phase of the project we will concentrate on the proteins and motors involved in homolog pairing and stabilization as well as extend our investigations to homologue recognition in eukaryotes other than Drosophila.

• DFG-Verfahren: Schwerpunktprogramme
• Teilprojekt zu: SPP 1050: Funktionelle Architektur des Zellkerns