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PhD Defense by Xin Wu

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In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics

in the School of Biological Sciences

 

Xin Wu

Defends his thesis:

FUNCTIONAL EPIGENOMICS IN INSECTS USING NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING METHODS

 

Monday, May 3rd, 2021

1:00 PM Eastern Time

https://bluejeans.com/9724883950

 

Thesis Advisor:

Dr. Soojin Yi

School of Biological Sciences

Georgia Institute of Technology

 

 

Committee Members:

Dr. Michael Goodisman

School of Biological Sciences

Georgia Institute of Technology

 

 

Dr. I. King Jordan

School of Biological Sciences

Georgia Institute of Technology

 

Dr. Christina Grozinger

Department of Entomology

Pennsylvania State University


Dr. Amelia Lindsey

Department Entomology

University of Minnesota

 

Abstract

 

DNA methylation is a widespread epigenetic modification implicated in many important processes such as development, disease, and genomic imprinting. In well-studied mammalian systems, DNA methylation at gene promoters acts as a transcriptional repressor including playing a critical role in X chromosome inactivation. Despite the importance and prevalence of DNA methylation, essential model organisms such as D. melanogaster and C. elegans have experienced lineage-specific losses of genomic DNA methylation. This thesis focuses on a comprehensive epigenomics survey and investigation of the Hymenopteran insect order, a group of insects including wasps, bees and ants that have retained functional DNA methylation systems. This diverse group of insects allows us to gain new insights in to the function role of DNA methylation, especially in the context of gene expression regulation. I will first provide a general survey of the epigenetic landscape of insects, which have a completely different pattern compared to mammals, and offer a new approach to quantifying and analyzing DNA methylation in these organisms. Next, I investigate changes to DNA methylation and gene expression that accompany a bacterial infection and a drastic shift from sexual to asexual reproduction in a parasitoid wasp. I will then examine how the intricate honey bee society gives rise to allele-specific methylation and its potential relationship to allele-specific expression. Finally, I explore the importance of DNA methylation along with other promoter elements in regulating gene expression variation.

 

 

Status

  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Tatianna Richardson
  • Created:04/27/2021
  • Modified By:Tatianna Richardson
  • Modified:04/27/2021

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