Simon Chan
Associate Professor
Plant Biology
Degrees:
2002
PhD
UCSF
Cell Biology
1996
BS
University of Auckland
Biochemistry
Research Interests:
Centromeres: controllers of inheritance
We study basic mechanisms of genetic inheritance, using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Centromeres control chromosome segregation during cell division, because they are the loci at which chromosomes attach to spindle microtubules via the kinetochore protein complex. Centromere DNA in most plants and animals consists of megabases of simple tandem repeats. These sequences can be dispensable for centromere function. Instead, the centromere is epigenetically specified by CENH3, a centromere-specific histone H3 variant that replaces conventional H3 in centromeric nucleosomes, and is essential for recruiting other kinetochore proteins.
We are developing experimental and bioinformatic methods to characterize the large centromeres typical of plants and animals. We are also studying how centromere behavior during meiosis is specialized to create gametes with half the chromosome number of the preceding cell. Lastly, we have developed a way to make plants with chromosomes from only one parent, that can greatly accelerate plant breeding.
http://chan.openwetware.org
Department and Center Affiliations:
Department of Plant Biology
Professional Societies:
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society for Cell Biology
Publications:
Last updated 8/6/2011
Ravi, M. and Chan, S.W.L.
Haploid plants produced by centromere-mediated genome elimination
Nature 464, 615-618 (2010)
Ravi, M., Kwong, P.N., Menorca, R.M.G., Valencia, J.T., Ramahi, J.S., Stewart, J.L., Tran, R.K., Sundaresan, V., Comai, L. and Chan, S.W.L.
The rapidly evolving centromere-specific histone has stringent functional requirements in Arabidopsis thaliana
Genetics, 186, 461–471 (2010)
Ravi, M., Shibata, F., Ramahi, J.S., Nagaki, K., Chen, C., Murata, M. & Chan, S.W.L.
Meiosis-specific loading of the centromere-specific histone CENH3 in Arabidopsis thaliana
PLoS Genetics, 7, e1002121 (2011)
Marimuthu, M.P.A.*, Jolivet, S.*, Ravi, M.*, Pereira, L., Davda, J.N., Cromer, L., Wang, L., Nogué, F., Chan, S.W.L.#, Siddiqi, I.# & Mercier, R.#
Synthetic clonal reproduction through seeds
Science, 331, 876 (2011)
(* equal contribution, # corresponding authors)
Laboratory Personnel:
Chan Lab, LS1215
http://chan.openwetware.org
Ravi Maruthachalam, postdoc; Mohan Marimuthu, postdoc; Han Tan, postdoc; Shamoni Maheshwari, postdoc; Daniel Melters, graduate student; Patrick Dunn, technician; Joel Valencia, technician