Research Abstract:
Identifying the molecular basis of complex traits is a major challenge to understanding phenotypic variation present in natural populations, including adaptations and human diseases. A longstanding hypothesis is that changes in gene regulation contribute as much or even more than changes in protein structure. While both population genetic and quantitative genetics approaches have been developed, both have had been biased towards the analysis of protein coding sequences. Recently, comparative genomics studies have shown that there are just as many functionally conserved noncoding as coding sequences, implying that many functional changes in gene regulation have yet to be discovered. The overall goal of my research program is to combine genome technologies with computational methods to investigate changes in gene regulation and their contribution to adaptation and disease. Leveraging the power of yeast genetics, we hope to generate and refine both methods and models for use in humans and other organisms.
Selected Publications:
Doniger SW, Kim HS, Swain D, Corcuera D, Williams M, Yang SP and Fay JC. A catalog of neutral and deleterious polymorphism in yeast. PLoS Genetics 2008 4: e1000183.
Kim HS and Fay JC. Genetic variation in the cysteine biosynthesis pathway causes sensitivity to pharmacological compounds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007 104: 19387-91.
Doniger SW and Fay JC. Frequent gain and loss of functional transcription factor binding sites. PLoS Comput Biol 2007 3: e99.
Fay JC and Benavides JA. Evidence for domesticated and wild populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PLoS Genetics 2005 1: 66-71.
Fay JC and Wu C-I. Sequence divergence, functional constraint and selection in protein evolution. Annu. Rev. Genomics Hum. Genet. 2003 3: 213-235.
Last Updated: 08/27/2009 |