Grant: Operating Grant

DNA is packaged by many different kinds of proteins. The proteins establish a local environment that allows genes to be active, or keeps genes off. The problem is that DNA synthesis removes most or all of the proteins that establish the correct environment, so these proteins have to be re-assembled on newly synthesized DNA. We don't have any idea which steps occur early and which steps occur later during this re-establishment. We will use fruit flies as a model system to address this question. Errors in this process lead to developmental defects,cancer, and are important for the normal function of stem cells.