Award Abstract Fellow: Sandra T. Merino Proposal number: BIR 9628899 This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for 1996. This fellowship supports research and training in the area of prokaryotic genetics, specifically an analysis of duplicated DNA sequences subjected to premeiotic methylation. The mushroom Coprinus cinereus is used in this study because genes are normally present in only one copy per nucleus, duplicated sequences are methylated premetotically in crosses, and methylation effects are detectable in the veil cells of the mushroom cap. This unique organism is ideally suited for studying premiotic homology search in cell division. Genes have been isolated from the mushroom which are necessary both for survival after gamma irridation and for meiosis. These mutants are being used to study the role of MIP, methylation indued premeiotically, in meiotic chromosome pairing and synapsis.
