 |
FRISC: The Faculty Research Interests Science Comparator |
|
Professor of Molecular Biology
Genetics and
Development
Office: (214) 648-1465
FAX: (214) 648-1488
Email: butow@utsw.swmed.edu
We are studying the molecular genetics of mitochondrial biogenesis and the interactions
of mitochondria with other cellular components in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One
major area of investigation is an understanding of how mitochondrial DNA is faithfully
transmitted during cell division. To approach this problem, we are analyzing the
organization, replication and dynamics of the mitochondrial chromosome. The working
hypothesis is that there is a dedicated mitochondrial DNA segregation apparatus in yeast
that controls mitochondrial DNA transmission. We use a variety of biochemical, genetic,
reverse genetic and cell biological approaches to study mitochondrial DNA transmission and
to identify the cis and trans -acting components that function in the
inheritance of the mitochondrial chromosome.
A second major area of investigation centers on the interactions between the nucleus
and mitochondria and the mechanisms that control mitochondrial homeostasis in the cell.
These studies involve the analysis of nuclear genes that are important for the control of
mitochondrial gene expression, and how the cell monitors and responds to changes in the
functional state of mitochondria. The latter response was discovered in our laboratory and
is a pathway called retrograde regulation , which is defined by the observation that
changes in the functional state of mitochondria alter the expression of a large subset of
nuclear genes. We have shown that these changes reflect attempts by the cell to
accommodate metabolic and biosynthetic activities to alterations in the functional state
of mitochondria. Current studies focus on identifying the signals that mark changes in the
functional state of mitochondria, and how these signals are transmitted to the nucleus to
effect changes in gene expression.
Selected Publications:
Koji Okamoto, Philip S. Perlman, and Ronald A. Butow (1998) The sorting of
mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial proteins in zygotes: preferential transmission of
mitochondrial DNA to the medial bud, J. Cell Biol. , 142, 613-621 (Featured Journal
cover)
David MacAlpine, Philip S. Perlman, and Ronald A. Butow (1998) The high mobility group
protein, Abf2p, influences the level of yeast mitochondrial DNA recombination
intermediates in vivo , PNAS , 95, 6739-6743
Olga Zelenaya-Troitskaya, Scott M. Newman, Koji Okamoto, Philip S. Perlman, and Ronald
A. Butow (1998) Functions of the HMG box protein, Abf2p, in mitochondrial DNA segregation,
recombination and copy number in Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Genetics , 148,
1763-1776
Yankai Jia, Beverly Rothermel, Janet Thornton, and Ronald A. Butow (1997) A basic
helix-loop-helix leucine zipper heterodimer in yeast functions in a signaling pathway from
mitochondria to the nucleus. Mol Cell Biol. , 17:3, 1110-1117
Beverly Rothermel, Janet Thornton, and Ronald A. Butow (1997) Rtg3p, a basic
helix-loop-helix leucine zipper protein that functions in motochondrial-induced changes in
gene expression, contains independent activation domains. J. Bio Chem. , 272:32,
19801-19807
Page maintained by Stephanie
Robertson
Last updated: 20 Feb 2002
Extraction Method: Expand using Medical Synonyms-
Eliminated words list: MedlinePlus List
-
Similarity Method: Weighted keyword count
-
Database: Medline abstracts (1967 - Present)
-
Publication Type: All
-
Score Calculation Method: Cosine Similarity Method
-
Sort by: Score
-
Show: Top 100 hits
-
Results computed on: 6/9/2006