Areas of Interest
The Mueller laboratory explores the evolution and functions of structurally complex genomic regions and their associated genes in the germline. We use a combination of molecular and computational approaches to:
1. Better understand large (>10kb), nearly identical (>99% nucleotide identity), palindromic sequences on the mammalian X and Y chromosomes, where they are enriched, and on autosomes, where they are rare.
2. Learn how selfish genes harbored in complex genomic regions increase their own transmission to the next generation, via genetic and molecular analyses of germ cells in the mammalian testes and ovaries.
We aim to translate basic knowledge of these complex genomic regions and their associated genes into new understandings of human infertility, how genomes evolve, and how genes can disobey Mendelian inheritance.
Honors & Awards
NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) 2011-present
Margaret and Herman Sokol Postdoctoral Award 2008
Robert D. Barnes Award, Gettysburg College 2008
NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship 2006-09
Credentials
Whitehead Institute, MIT, Post-doctoral Fellow 2005-2013
Cornell University, Ph.D. in Genetics and Development 2005
Gettysburg College, B.A. in Biology and Economics 1998
Published Articles or Reviews
Arlt M.F., Brogley M.A., Stark-Dykema E.R., Hu Y.C., Mueller J.L. 2020. Genomic structure, evolutionary origins and reproductive functions of a large amplified intrinsically disordered protein-coding gene on the X chromosome (Laidx) in mice. G3 10(6):1997-2005
Swanepoel C.M., Gerlinger E.R., Mueller J.L. 2020. Large X-linked palindromes undergo recurrent arm-to-arm gene conversion across Mus lineages. Molecular Biology and Evolution 37(7): 1979-1985
Kruger A.N., Brogley M.A., Huizinga J.L., Kidd J.M., de Rooij D.G., Hu Y.C., Mueller J.L. 2019. A neofunctionalized X-linked ampliconic gene family is essential for male fertility and equal sex ratio in mice. Current Biology 29: 3699-3706
Bennett-Baker P. and Mueller J.L. 2017. CRISPR-mediated isolation of megabase-sized DNA segments. Nucleic Acids Research 45: e165
Mueller J.L., Skaletsky H., Brown L.G., Zaghul S., Rock S., Graves T., Auger K., Warren W.C., Wilson R.K., Page D.C. Independent specialization of the human and mouse X chromosomes for the male germline. Nature Genetics 45: 1083-1087, 2013.
Mueller J.L., Mahadevaiah S.K., Park P.J., Warburton P.E., Page D.C., Turner J.M. The mouse X chromosome is enriched for multicopy testis genes showing postmeiotic expression. Nature Genetics 40: 794-799, 2008.