About the Carlton Lab
Our group studies how the structure and dynamic behavior of chromosomes control meiotic pairing, recombination, and the correct expression and transmission of the genome.
Meiosis is an essential process that creates haploid cells from diploid precursors, and errors in meiosis cause many human health problems, from infertility to birth defects. We use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for its excellent genetic and cytological qualities. A main focus of the lab is the innovative use of superresolution imaging techniques such as 3D structured illumination and single-molecule composition microscopy for the study of chromosome structure at the mesoscale, beyond the diffraction limit of light, from 200 down to 20 nanometers. We aim to find the mechanisms underlying the recognition of chromatin as paired or unpaired, and the structural basis for meiotic recombination occurring between homologs rather than sister chromatids. An additional area of interest is the study of dynamic processes such as chromosome movement with fast three-dimensional multiwavelength fluorescence imaging under conditions that preserve full viability.
Pluripotent stem cells have unique requirements for genome regulation: they must suppress all developmental pathways, while remaining competent to activate any given pathway. Regulation at the epigenetic level (covalent modification, such as methylation, of DNA and histones) has been shown to be a key player in pluripotency. Most data we have on this has come from biochemical studies, such as Chromatin IP, that give ensembles of information over large populations of cells. We are using superresolution microscopy to investigate the spatial regulation of the pluripotent genome in three dimensions, and to discover the modes of genome organization particular to pluripotent cells, in contrast to lineage-committed cells.
Pluripotent stem cells have unique requirements for genome regulation: they must suppress all developmental pathways, while remaining competent to activate any given pathway. Regulation at the epigenetic level (covalent modification, such as methylation, of DNA and histones) has been shown to be a key player in pluripotency. Most data we have on this has come from biochemical studies, such as Chromatin IP, that give ensembles of information over large populations of cells. We are using superresolution microscopy to investigate the spatial regulation of the pluripotent genome in three dimensions, and to discover the modes of genome organization particular to pluripotent cells, in contrast to lineage-committed cells.
