Mary Goll

Associate Professor
Ph.D. (2006) Columbia University

 

Packaging of DNA into open regions of euchromatin and condensed regions of heterochromatin is critical for genome integrity and transcriptional regulation. The Goll lab seeks to understand the mechanisms that drive the initial establishment of these chromatin states during the earliest stages of embryogenesis and to understand how aberrant chromatin states can contribute to disease pathology.  We use a combination of genetic, genomic, molecular, and cell biology-based approaches to address these questions in the context of vertebrate development. Our favorite model is the zebrafish!

Our research is currently supported by :

NIGMS 1R35GM139556 Heterochromatin in the developing vertebrate embryo

NIEHS 1R21ES032503 Environmental stress and epigenetic repression in the developing embryo

 

Education:

BA. Cornell University

PhD. Columbia University

Postdoc, Carnegie Institution for Science

 

 

 

Research Interests:

Our Mission:

Research in our laboratory integrates molecular, cell, developmental, genetic and genomic data to understand fundamental processes related to DNA packaging, transcriptional regulation and epigenetic inheritance in the context of early vertebrate development and disease.

Our Model:

We primarily use the zebrafish as a model for our research. Most processes are well conserved between zebrafish and other vertebrates (including humans). The large numbers of synchronously dividing, externally fertilized embryos produced from zebrafish crosses enable molecular and genomic studies of early embryogenesis that can be difficult to perform in mammalian systems. At the same time the small size, rapid development and clarity of the zebrafish embryo facilitates imaging-based approaches to monitor chromatin dynamics in vivo across all stages of development.

Primary Research Focuses:

CHROMATIN REGULATION IN EARLY EMBRYOGENESIS:

Segregation of eukaryotic genomes into open regions of euchromatin and condensed regions heterochromatin represents one of the most fundamental processes in eukaryotic biology. Failure to package DNA into these distinct states during early embryogenesis can have profound consequences for transcriptional regulation, genome stability and normal development. Yet, despite its fundamental importance, the mechanisms that drive the fractionation of genomes into these distinct domains remain unclear. Current research in our laboratory is aimed at understanding the mechanisms that drive the de novo segregation of genomes into these distinct compartments, and the developmental consequences of shifting the timing of this event.

DNA METHYLATION LOSS IN DISEASE (CANCER AND ICF SYNDROME):

The epigenetically modified DNA base 5-methylcytosine (DNA methylation, 5mC) is essential for vertebrate development and abnormal DNA methylation patterns are common in diseases. In particular, the pericentromeric satellite repeats that flank chromosome centromeres are highly enriched in 5mC. Specific loss of 5mC at these sequences is common in cancer and is also a hallmark of the rare human disease, Immunodeficiency, Centromere and Facial abnormalities (ICF) syndrome. Our laboratory has generated the first viable animal models that faithfully recapitulate selective hypomethylation of pericentromeres and hallmarks of ICF syndrome. Current research in our laboratory uses these models to understand the relationship between pericentromeric methylation loss and cancer, how pericentromeric methylation loss contributes to ICF syndrome pathology, and the mechanisms that regulate methylation at pericentromeres.

Selected Publications:

Calvird AE, Broniec MN, Duval KL, Higgs AN, Arora V, Ha LN, Schouten EB, Crippen AR, McGrail M, Laue K, Goll MG (2022). Uncovering Regulators of Heterochromatin Mediated Silencing Using a Zebrafish Transgenic Reporter. Front Cell Dev Biol. 10:832461. 

Akdogan-Ozdilek B, Duval KL, Meng FW, Murphy PJ, Goll MG. (2021) Identification of chromatin states during zebrafish gastrulation using CUT&RUN and CUT&Tag. Dev Dyn. 251(4):729-742.

Laue K, Rajshekar S, Courtney AJ, Lewis ZA, Goll MG. (2019) The maternal-to-zygotic transition regulates genome-wide heterochromatin establishment in the zebrafish embryo. Nature Communications 10(1):1551.

Rajshekar S, Yao J, Arnold PK, Payne SG, Zhang Y, Bowman TV, Schmitz, RJ, Edwards JR, Goll MG. (2018) Pericentromeric hypomethylation elicits an interferon response in an animal model of ICF syndrome. eLife 7:e39658.

Li C, Lan Y, Schwartz-Orbach L, Korol E, Tahiliani M, Evans T, Goll MG. (2015) Overlapping requirements for Tet2 and Tet3 in normal development and hematopoietic stem cell emergence. Cell Reports 12(7):1133-43.

 

Gaelen R. Burke

Assistant Professor in Entomology
PhD, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
Selected Publications:

PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

*undergraduate authors

Simmonds TJ*, Carrillo D, Burke GR (2016) Characterization of a venom gland-associated rhabdovirus in the parasitoid wasp Diachasmimorpha longicaudata. Journal of Insect Physiology. 91-92:48-55.

Burke GR (2016) Analysis of Genetic Variation Across the Encapsidated Genome of Microplitis demolitor Bracovirus in Parasitoid Wasps. PLoS ONE. 11(7):e0158846.

Bitra K, Burke GR, Strand MR (2016) Permissiveness of lepidopteran hosts is linked to differential expression of bracovirus genes. Virology. 492:259-72.

Burke GR, Simmonds TJ*, Thomas SA*, Strand MR (2015) Microplitis demolitor Bracovirus Proviral Loci and Clustered Replication Genes Exhibit Distinct DNA Amplification Patterns during Replication. Journal of Virology. 89(18): 9511-23.

Burke GR, Walden KKO, Whitfield JB, Robertson HM, Strand MR (2014) Widespread genome reorganization of an obligate virus mutualist. PLoS Genetics. 10(9):e1004660.

Burke GR, Strand MR (2014) Systematic analysis of a wasp parasitism arsenal. Molecular Ecology. Epub ahead of print.

Burke GR, Thomas SA*, Eum JH, Strand MR (2013) Mutualistic polydnaviruses share essential replication gene functions with pathogenic ancestors. PLoS Pathogens. 9(5):e1003348.

Burke GR, Strand MR (2012) Deep sequencing identifies viral and wasp genes with potential roles in replication of Microplitis demolitor bracovirus. Journal of Virology. 86(6):3293-306.

Beck MH, Zhang S, Bitra K, Burke GR, Strand MR (2011) The encapsidated genome of Microplitis demolitor bracovirus integrates into the host Pseudoplusia includens. Journal of Virology. 85(22):11685-96.

Burke GR and Moran NA (2011) Massive genomic decay in Serratia symbiotica, a recently evolved symbiont of aphids. Genome Biology and Evolution. 3: 195-208.

Burke GR and Moran NA (2011) Responses of the pea aphid transcriptome to infection by facultative symbionts. Insect Molecular Biology. 20 (3):357-65.

Burke GR, McLaughlin HJ, Simon J-C, Moran NA (2010) Dynamics of a recurrent mutation in Buchnera symbionts affecting thermal tolerance of pea aphid hosts. Genetics. 186 (1): 367-72.

Burke GR, Fiehn O, Moran NA (2009) Effects of facultative symbionts and heat stress on

the metabolome of pea aphids. ISME Journal, 4 (2): 242-52.

The International Aphid Genomics Consortium (2009) Genome sequence of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. PLoS Biology, 8 (2): e1000313.

Burke GR, Normark BB, Favret C, Moran NA (2009) Evolution and diversity of facultative symbionts from the aphid subfamily Lachninae. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 75 (16): 5328-35.

Iturbe-Ormaetxe I, Burke GR, Riegler M, O’Neill SL (2005) Distribution, expression, and motif variability of ankyrin domain genes in Wolbachia pipientis. Journal of Bacteriology. 187 (15): 5136-45.

REVIEW ARTICLES

Strand MR and Burke GR (2015) Polydnaviruses: from discovery to current insights. Virology, 479-480: 393-402.

Strand MR and Burke GR (2014) Polydnaviruses: nature’s genetic engineers. Annual Review of Virology. 1: 333-354.

Strand MR and Burke GR (2013) Polydnavirus-wasp associations: evolution, genome organization, and function. Current Opinion in Virology. 3(5): 587-94.

Strand MR and Burke GR (2012) Polydnaviruses as symbionts and gene delivery systems. PLoS Pathogens. 8(7): e1002757.

Burke GR and Strand MR (2011) Polydnaviruses of parasitic wasps: domestication of viruses to act as gene delivery vectors. Insects. 3(1): 91-119.

Oliver KM, Degnan PH, Burke GR, Moran NA (2009) Facultative symbionts of aphids and the horizontal transfer of ecologically important traits. Annual Reviews of Entomology. 55: 247-66.

Kelly Dyer was named a Russell Award Recipient

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Three UGA faculty members have been named recipients of the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the university's highest early career teaching honor.



"This year's Russell Award recipients combine innovation in the classroom with a heartfelt commitment to student success," said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten, whose office administers the awards. "They inspire students and exemplify the University of Georgia's unrivaled learning environment."



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