Areas of Interest
I am interested in exploring the functional significance of large palindromes located on the X and Y chromosomes. A palindromic DNA sequence is one in which the 5’ to 3’ sequence on one strand matches the 5’ to 3’ sequence on the reverse complement strand. Gene families residing within these sex-linked palindromes are primarily expressed in spermatogenic cells, and loss of such genes has been associated with male infertility. This suggests an essential function of palindromic genes in spermatogenesis. I plan to investigate the importance of large sex-linked palindrome structures in maintaining sequence integrity of testis specific genes using in vivo genetic approaches in the mouse model.