University of Pittsburgh Department of Biological Sciences presents:
2019 Spring Seminar Series
Dr. Bethany Buck-Koehntop
University of Utah
“Investigating ZBTB Protein Regulation of Epigenitcally Modified DNA”
DNA methylation is an essential epigenetic modification in eukaryotes required for genomic stability, control of gene expression and regulation of chromatin structure. Misappropriation of genomic DNA methylation patterns has a direct link to disease, prompting the need to understand the regulatory mechanisms of DNA methylation in gene transcription. The ZBTB family of methyl-CpG binding proteins (MBPs) consists of three specialized transcription factors which exhibit bimodal DNA recognition by specifically targeting both methylated DNA as well as sequence-specific TpG-containing sites. DNA recognition recruits chromatin remodeling complexes, altering chromatin structure and transcriptional outcomes at the target site. While there are sufficient findings to suggest that transcriptional activities mediated by the ZBTB MBPs are associated with disease, an extensive analysis for the mechanisms of DNA and protein recognition in transcriptional regulation mediated by each protein has yet to be examined. To investigate this, our laboratory utilizes an interdisciplinary approach incorporating in vitro biophysical/biochemical and in cell genomics methods. This presentation will emphasize how this combined approach provides a powerful platform for beginning to delineate the mechanisms by which these proteins elicit preferential binding selectivity for their biological targets and modulate transcription in disease contexts.
Monday, February 4, 2019
169 Crawford Hall
11:00 A.M.
10:50 A.M. refreshments
Host: Dr. Andrea Berman