Simon Chan
Assistant Professor
srchan@ucdavis.edu
Plant Biology
Office
Life Sciences Addition 1220
754 9652
Lab
754 9789
2002
PhD
UCSF
Cell Biology
1996
BS
University of Auckland
Biochemistry
All organisms must pass on an intact genome to their progeny - plants and animals face the added problem that many cell divisions elapse between fertilization and formation of new germ cells. We are interested in two related questions: 1) How are chromosomes correctly inherited during cell division? and 2) How is genomic instability prevented? The fact that genomic instability is found in almost all cancers highlights the biomedical relevance of our work.
The DNA sequence of a chromosome contains features important for preserving its stability, but we are especially interested in the role of epigenetic information i.e. information that is not encoded in the basic DNA sequence. Epigenetic marks include DNA methylation, modifications to the histone proteins that package DNA, and small RNA molecules (siRNAs). Arabidopsis thaliana is excellent for studying chromosome function, because its epigenetic mechanisms are highly similar to vertebrate cells.
http://chan.openwetware.org
All organisms must pass an intact genome onto their progeny, so we are interested how chromosomes are faithfully inherited when cells divide. The centromere is the position on a chromosome where it attaches to the mitotic spindle, facilitating correct segregation. The protein complex that creates a microtubule binding site at the centromere is termed the kinetochore. We study chromosome properties that specify centromere location and function using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
http://chan.openwetware.org
Department of Plant Biology
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society for Cell Biology
Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Genetics
Plant Biology
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Chan, S.W.L., Bernatavichute, Y.V., Zhang, X.Y. and Jacobsen, S.E.
Two-step recruitment of RNA-directed DNA methylation to tandem repeat sequences.
PLoS Biology, 4, e363 (2006)
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Chan, S.W.L., Henderson, I.R., Zhang, X.Y., Chien, J.S.C., Shah, G. and Jacobsen, S.E.
RNAi, DRD1 and Histone Methylation Actively Target Developmentally Important Non-CG DNA Methylation in Arabidopsis.
PLoS Genetics 2, Issue 6 e83 (2006)
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Chan, S.W.L.*, Henderson, I.R.* and Jacobsen, S.E.
Gardening the genome: DNA methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Nature Reviews Genetics 6, 351-360 (2005) [review article]
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Chan, S.W.L., Zilberman D., Xie, Z., Johansen, L.K., Carrington, J.C. and Jacobsen, S.E.
RNA silencing genes control de novo DNA methylation.
Science 303, 1336 (2004)