Assistant Professor of Biology
MAJOR AREA: Mouse Genetics: Non-Mendelian Genetics and Epigenetics
OFFICE: 233 Life Science
PHONE: 817-272-2986
LAB: 214 life Science
PHONE: 817-272-2634
FAX: 817-272-2855
elenace@uta.edu

Ph.D., University of Salamanca, Spain (1997)

I am interested in understanding how basic biological phenomena (gene expression, recombination and segregation) are controlled and how they affect to the transmission of the genetic information. Because of the importance of these processes in all organisms, their fine control has been the object of numerous studies. However, many of these studies have ignored two important facts: 1) these phenomena do not necessarily follow Mendel’s laws and 2) there is more genetic information than the one contained in the nucleotide sequence. During the last years, there has been a growing interest in the epigenetic studies about the interactions between DNA and other molecules (proteins, etc.) or other DNA regions, their modifications (methylation, etc.) and their three-dimensional configuration, because such modifications and interactions can result in changes in gene expression or segregation during meiosis. These effects have important implications in cell fate, fertility, genetic diseases, cancer, evolution, etc.

Mouse gametogenesis and early development constitute interesting systems to study the mechanisms that control gene expression, recombination and segregation in mammals. Differential marking of maternal and paternal genes can result in expression differences between individual oocytes and, consequently, differential viability between embryos (e.g., DDK syndrome of embryonic lethality.) Differential marking between chromosomes can also result in non-random segregation during meiosis (i.e., meiotic drive). I am particularly interested about studying the epigenetic marks that result in both exceptions to Mendel’s laws. Meiotic recombination is very tightly controlled in all sexually reproducing organisms. Recombination has not only an important effect on genetic diversity, but is also required for proper chromosome segregation during meiosis. Consequently, changes in recombination levels often result in aneuploidy and infertility problems. However, variability in recombination levels has also been observed between different strains of mice. Genetic studies of such strains will provide new insights into the fine control of meiotic recombination.