Linda Hanley-Bowdoin
North Carolina State University, NC·Plant Science & Agriculture
Every living thing must copy its DNA accurately and completely as it grows. In plants and animals, this copying happens inside the cell nucleus on a tightly controlled schedule: some parts of the genome are copied early, others late.
- Fields
Plant Science & Agriculture
Genetics
Biology
- Topics
DNA replication
replication timing
replication initiation regions
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2027
What they work on
- Define and visualize DNA replication initiation regions and measure genome-wide transcription rates in B73 maize root tip meristems, using in vivo labeling of newly copied DNA and flow sorting of nuclei.
- Examine DNA replication alongside chromatin accessibility and cytological and molecular interactions in resting and replicating maize nuclei, to build a mechanistic picture of the replication timing program.
- Compare replication timing, initiation regions, transcription and chromatin accessibility in maize B73, maize Mo17 and sorghum to find genotype-specific differences and learn how replication programs are genetically determined.
More about the research
This schedule, called replication timing, is connected to which genes are active, how DNA is packaged and how chromosomes fold in three dimensions. Events tied to replication early in development may shape gene activity and plant traits throughout life. This project studies these links in maize (corn) and its close relative sorghum, both important crops with strong genetic and genomic resources.
Why it matters
This basic science work shows how plant genomes organize and schedule DNA copying, and how that links to gene activity and chromosome structure. It aims to establish replication timing as a useful way to annotate plant genomes. Over time, this understanding could inform how genetic differences in crops like maize and sorghum shape gene expression and traits.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
James Birchler
University of Missouri-Columbia, MO·Genetics
Test whether shifts in how often McClintock's tiny fragment chromosome is inherited stem from genome rearrangements caused by its X component, mapping them with whole chromosome painting and DNA sequencing.
John Fowler
Oregon State University, OR·Plant Science & Agriculture
Measure gene-specific contributions to pollen fitness for several hundred maize genes, using fluorescently marked Ds-GFP insertion mutants and the EarVision automated imaging and computer vision phenotyping system.
Marisa Otegui
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Plant Science & Agriculture
Analyze how autophagy, the cell's self-digestion recycling system, affects recycling in different photosynthetic maize leaf cell types, using pooled cell-type proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics.
The school
North Carolina State University: 40 labs on PI Pages, $717M a year on research, 603 research doctorates a year.
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