We use the power of functional genetics and genomics in C. elegans to address fundamental questions in chromatin regulation and transcriptional control. Chromatin is the organization of genomic DNA and histones that can have a wide range of post-translational modifications along with hundreds of associated proteins and RNAs. The composition and structure of chromatin determines activity state and is central to the control of transcription, the expression of cell identity, the maintenance of pluripotency, and the transformation to cancer. However, our knowledge of chromatin composition and understanding of chromatin regulator function is still at a basic level. C. elegans has a complement of core chromatin factors very similar to that of humans (many with existing mutants), a small well-annotated genome (30x smaller than human), RNAi for loss of function studies, and well-characterised cell fates.
We combine wet-lab and computational approaches to a range of problems in chromatin biology and transcriptional control, such as genome organization, promoter and enhancer function, roles of histone modifications, heterochromatin formation and function, and the regulation of chromatin in developmental transitions.