Class of 2006
ghauk@jhu.edu | B.S. Biochemistry, University of Michigan
Research
The genomic DNA of eukaryotic organisms is compacted into dense structures known as chromatin. The basic repeating unit of chromatin is the nucleosome, which consists of histone proteins wrapped by 147 base pairs of DNA. In the Bowman lab we study ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers which properly space and reposition nucleosomes to help ensure appropriate access to DNA by cellular components and proper compaction of chromatin. We are interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling through studying one such remodeler, CHD1. We are pursuing structural studies of CHD1 in biologically interesting states in order to elucidate the means by which this motor-protein repositions nucleosomes on DNA.
Publications
McLellan, J.S., X. Zheng, G. Hauk, R. Ghirlando, P.A. Beachy, and D.J. Leahy. (2008) The mode of Hedgehog binding to Ihog homologues is not conserved across different phyla. Nature Sep 14 [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 18794898
Couture, J.F., G. Hauk, M.J. Thompson, G.M. Blackburn, and R.C. Trievel. (2006) Catalytic roles for carbon-oxygen hydrogen bonding in SET domain lysine methyltransferases. J. Biol. Chem. 281:19280-19287. Couture, J.F., E. Collazo, G. Hauk, and R.C. Trievel. (2006) Structural basis for the methylation site specificity of SET7/9. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 13:140-146. |
