What is the significance of satellite DNA expression in the germline?
Satellite DNA can be transcribed into RNA, and it is unknown if this transcription mainly represents random transcriptional activity that should be minimized, or if the transcripts may be involved in beneficial activities. One of our goals is to investigate the functional and evolutionary importance of repetitive transcripts in germline development.
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Lab Research
Does the abundance of satellite DNA matter?
Satellite DNA can change in abundance by millions of base pairs in short periods of evolution. One of our goals is to investigate whether abundance changes like this have any physiological or developmental impact.
How does satellite DNA instability contribute to chromosome segregation errors?
Chromosome segregation errors, known as nondisjunction, result in cells having missing or extra chromosomes. These events are associated with common human health problems such as inviable pregnancies and cancer. Satellite DNA is located near or at the centromere, but is prone to instability that might challenge processes in cell division. By investigating satellite DNA instability, our goal is to better understand why and how nondisjunction occurs so frequently.