The goal of the proposed research is to understand at the molecular level the mechanism involved in the utilization of genetic information in eukaryotes. Insights into this problem are likely to have significant impact on our understanding of the processes involved in normal development and differentiation and in those leading to abnormal cellular proliferation and tissue degeneration. To study this problem we plan to examine the structure and expression of different D. melenogaster genes. Particular attention will be directed towards correlating the sequence organization and the packaging of different types of gens into chromatin, with the mechanism responsible for controlling gene expression. Other studies will focus on coordinate changes in the pattern of gene expression during oogenesis and embryogenesis. We would like to determine in these studies how different genes are selectively activated during the course of development.
