James Alan Kennison, Ph.D.

Senior Investigator

Section on Drosophila Gene Regulation


6B 3B331



Research Topics

Genomics of Development in Drosophila

Our goal is to understand how linear information encoded in genomic DNA functions to control cell fates during development. The Drosophila genome is about twenty times smaller than the human genome. Despite its smaller size, most developmental genes and at least half of the disease- and cancer-causing genes in man are conserved in Drosophila, making Drosophila a particularly important model system for the study of human development and disease. One of the important groups of conserved developmental genes are the homeotic genes. In Drosophila, the homeotic genes specify cell identities at both the embryonic and adult stages. The genes encode homeodomain-containing transcription factors that control cell fates by regulating the transcription of downstream target genes. The homeotic genes are expressed in precise spatial patterns that are crucial for the proper determination of cell fate. Both loss of expression and ectopic expression in the wrong tissues lead to changes in cell fate. The changes provide powerful assays for identifying the trans-acting factors that regulate the homeotic genes and the cis-acting sequences through which they act. The trans-acting factors are also conserved between Drosophila and human and have important functions, not only in development but also in stem-cell maintenance and cancer.



Selected Publications

  1. Cunningham MD, Gause M, Cheng Y, Noyes A, Dorsett D, Kennison JA, Kassis JA. Wapl antagonizes cohesin binding and promotes Polycomb-group silencing in Drosophila. Development. 2012;139(22):4172-9.

  2. Gilliland WD, May DP, Colwell EM, Kennison JA. A Simplified Strategy for Introducing Genetic Variants into Drosophila Compound Autosome Stocks. G3 (Bethesda). 2016.

  3. Cooper MT, Kennison JA. Molecular genetic analyses of polytene chromosome region 72A-D in Drosophila melanogaster reveal a gene desert in 72D. PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e23509.

  4. Lindsley DL, Roote J, Kennison JA. Anent the genomics of spermatogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e55915.

  5. Monribot-Villanueva J, Juárez-Uribe RA, Palomera-Sánchez Z, Gutiérrez-Aguiar L, Zurita M, Kennison JA, Vázquez M. TnaA, an SP-RING protein, interacts with Osa, a subunit of the chromatin remodeling complex BRAHMA and with the SUMOylation pathway in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS One. 2013;8(4):e62251.

This page was last updated on October 26th, 2017