Piroska Huvos received her B.S. degree and her Ph.D. degree from the Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest (1969). She joined SIUC as an Adjunct Faculty in 1988.
phone: (618) 453-6469
email: phuvos@siumed.edu
Programmed genome rearrangements can be an essential part of normal development in organisms ranging from bacteria to mammals. Genome rearrangements are also associated with certain diseases, such as cancer, and contribute to the remodeling of the genome during evolution. Ciliated protozoans are used as a model system for the study of DNA rearrangements, as they undergo extensive programmed genome rearrangements during development of a somatic macronucleus from a germline micronucleus.
In Tetrahymena thermophila, short segments of developmentally eliminated DNA are dispersed at thousands of sites in the genome. A few of these rearrangement sites have been studied in detail, however, almost no common features are detectable among the eliminated segments or among the immediately flanking retained sequences.
The major ongoing effort in my laboratory is directed towards comparing some of these rearrangement sites in several species to identify: A) sequences changes that allow the developmental rearrangements to remain functional, and B) sequence changes that lead to the generation or disappearance of rearrangements during evolution.
The main techniques used are sequence analysis of amplified or cloned DNA. The main objective is to examine the relationship between programmed (developmental) and unprogrammed (evolutionary) changes occurring at the rearrangements sites.
Another interest is to use whole genome analysis utilizing repeated probes. This versatile technique is explored using the Tetrahymena genome but it is applicable to other genomes for the analysis of genomic changes occurring under different conditions.
Huvos, P. 1995. Developmental rearrangements and micronucleus-specific sequences in the Tetrahymena pyriformis species complex. Genetics 141:925-936.
Hardwicke, P.M.D. and P. Huvos. 1989. Effect of K+, and other ligands on the thiol reactivity and tryptic cleavage pattern of scallop sarcoplasmic reticulum. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motility 10:239-244.
Hüvos, P.E., J. A. Sanchez, K. M. Kramer, K. M. Karrer, and L. J. Wangh. 1988. Two-dimensional DNA gel electrophoresis as a method for analysis of eucaryotic genome structure: evaluation using Tetrahymena thermophila DNA. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 949:325-333.
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