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Francis Maddox
Biology, Honors College

Eric Selker, Mentor
Keyur Adhvaryu, Mentor

Characterization of the Possible Role of Histone H4 in DNA Methylation

Genetic studies have identified a number of post-transcriptional modifications to genomic DNA—methylation, acetylation, and ubiquitization—all of which can affect the activation state of coding regions. A number of recent investigations indicate the possibility that the core histones, around which DNA is packaged into the nucleosome, play some role in the methylation of chromosomal DNA. This study will indicate to what extent histone H4 and its associated residues are interrelated with the process of DNA methylation. Such correlations will be identified by substituting each of twenty-one isolated modifications of the gene encoding histone H4 for that same gene in a suitable strain of Neurospora Crassa. Using methylated plasmid probes in a southern analysis of each modified strain, the presence of methylated DNA in those strains will be observed qualitatively and will indicate whether, and to what extent, the various residues of histone H4 are involved in this genomic process.