The second aim is to determine the manner in which a particular DNA sequence acts to suppress meiotic recombination, thus acting as a recombination coldspot. Short tracts also stimulate meiotic recombination, acting as a hotspot for meiotic recombination. However, long tracts repress meiotic recombination below the basal level seen with a HIS4 promoter deletion, therefore acting as a coldspot. The lab is examining the DNA sequence components and protein factors that contribute to the establishment of the coldspot. In humans, this tract undergoes length alterations and rearrangements in a meiosis-specific manner, and is capable of stimulating transcription.
Preliminary results indicate that the tract has similar effects in yeast.
The mechanisms and gene products responsible for these processes are under investigation. Kirkpatrick, D. T., Wang, Y.-H., Dominska, M., Griffith, J. D., and T. D. Petes. Kirkpatrick, D. T., Fan, Q.-Q., and T. D. Petes. Kirkpatrick, D. T., Dominska, M., and T. D. Petes. Kirkpatrick, D. T. and T. D. Petes.