Simon Chan
Assistant Professor
srchan@ucdavis.edu

Plant Biology

Office
Life Sciences Addition 1220
754 9652

Lab
754 9789


Picture of Simon Chan
 
Degrees:
2002 PhD UCSF Cell Biology
1996 BS University of Auckland Biochemistry
Research Interests:

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 and Center Affiliations:

Department of Plant Biology
Professional Societies:
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society for Cell Biology
CBS Graduate Group Affiliations:
Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology  
Genetics  
Plant Biology  
Publications:
  • 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)
  • 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)
  • 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]
  • 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)
Laboratory Personnel:
Simon Chan Lab, LS2123
http://chan.openwetware.org
Jodi Stewart, technician

Chan Lab, LS1215
http://chan.openwetware.org
Joe Ramahi, graduate student; Pak Kwong, technician; Ravi Maruthachalam, postdoc; Daniel Melters, graduate student