Biology Commons^™

Chromosome And Expression Mechanisms: A Year Dominated By Histone Modifications, Transitory And Remembered, Jerry Workman, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Subjective, Cultural, And Natural Ecology, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Mindful Virtue, Mindful Reverence, Ursula Goodenough, Paul Woodruff

Biology Faculty Research

How does one talk about moral thought and moral action as a religious naturalist? We explore this question by considering two human capacities: the capacity for mindfulness, and the capacity for virtue. We suggest that mindfulness is deeply enhanced by an understanding of the scientific worldview and that the four cardinal virtues—courage, fairmindedness, humaneness, and reverence—are rendered coherent by mindful reflection. We focus on the concept of mindful reverence and propose that the mindful reverence elicited by the evolutionary narrative is at the heart of religious naturalism. Religious education, we suggest, entails the cultivation of mindful virtue, in ourselves and …

Biology Department Publications: 2001, Sam Lindgren

Biology Department Bibliographies

This document is a noncomprehensive list of publications made by graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty members in the Biology Department in 2001. It indexes those publications available through major databases, and serves as an archival record of the Department’s robust scholarly contributions.

Genomes, Gould, And Emergence, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

The publication of the human genome has elicited commentary to the effect that, since fewer genes were identified than anticipated, it follows that genes are less important to human biology than anticipated. The flaws in this syllogism are explained in the context of a treatise on how genomes operate and evolve and how genes function to produce embryos and brains. Most of our most cherished human traits are the result of the emergence of new properties from preexisting genetically scripted ideas, offering countless opportunities to celebrate the evolutionary process.

A Heat-Shock-Activated Cdna Encoding Gaga Factor Rescues Some Lethal Mutations In The Drosophila Melanogaster Trithorax-Like Gene, H Granok, B Leibovitch, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

GAGA factor is an important chromosomal protein involved in establishing specific nucleosome arrays and in regulating gene transcription in Drosophila melanogaster. We developed a transgenic system for controlled heat-shock-dependent overexpression of the GAGA factor 519 amino acid isoform (GAGA-519) in vivo. Efficient production of stable protein from these transgenes provided genetic rescue of a hypomorphic Trithorax-like (Trl) lethal allele to adulthood. Nevertheless, supplemental GAGA-519 did not suppress position effect variegation (PEV), a phenomenon commonly used to measure dosage effects of chromosomal proteins, nor did it rescue other lethal alleles of Trl. The results suggest requirements for the additional isoforms of …

A Setback To The Dialogue: Response To Huston Smith, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Huston Smith's book, Why Religion Matters, offers an eloquent evocation of mystical sensibility. Unfortunately, along the way, he offers a strongly negative and often inaccurate account of the scientific worldview, the claim being that the science is laying siege to the spiritual.

Vertical And Horizontal Transcendence, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Transcendence is explored from two perspectives: the traditional concept wherein the origination of the sacred is “out there,” and the alternate concept wherein the sacred originates “here.” Each is evaluated from the perspectives of aesthetics and hierarchy. Both forms of transcendence are viewed as essential to the full religious life.

Causality And Subjectivity In The Religious Quest, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

The dynamics of seeking causation and the dynamics of subjectivity are presented and then brought together in a consideration of the three core components of the religious quest: the search for and experience of ultimate explanations, the interiority of religious experience (“spirituality”), and the empathic experience of religious fellowship.

Biology Department Publications: 2000, Sam Lindgren

Biology Department Bibliographies

This document is a noncomprehensive list of publications made by graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty members in the Biology Department in 2000. It indexes those publications available through major databases, and serves as an archival record of the Department’s robust scholarly contributions.

Religiopoiesis, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Religiopoiesis describes the crafting of religion, a core activity of humankind. Each religion is grounded in its myth, and each myth includes a cosmology of origins and destiny. The scientific worldview coheres as such a myth and calls for a religiopoietic response. The difficulties, opportunities, and imperatives inherent in this call are explored, particularly as they impact the working scientist.

Chromatin Organization And Transcriptional Control Of Gene Expression In Drosophila, G Farkas, B Leibovitch, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

It is increasingly clear that the packaging of DNA in nucleosome arrays serves not only to constrain the genome within the nucleus, but also to encode information concerning the activity state of the gene. Packaging limits the accessibility of many regulatory DNA sequence elements and is functionally significant in the control of transcription, replication, repair and recombination. Here, we review studies of the heat-shock genes, illustrating the formation of a specific nucleosome array at an activatable promoter, and describe present information on the roles of DNA-binding factors and energy-dependent chromatin remodeling machines in facilitating assembly of an appropriate structure. Epigenetic …

Reflections On Scientific And Religious Metaphor, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

The importance of scientific conflicts for theology and philosophy is difficult to judge. In many disputes of significance, prominent scientists can be found on both sides. Profound philosophical and religious implications are sometimes said to be implied by the new theory as well. This article examines the dispute over natural selection between Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould as a contemporary instance of such a conflict. While both claim that profound philosophical conclusions flow from their own alternative account of evolution, I suggest that the implication is not as great as is claimed and that the alleged implications have as …

The Hp1 Protein Family: Getting A Grip On Chromatin, J Eissenberg, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

HP1 was first described in Drosophila as a heterochromatin-associated protein with dosage-dependent effects on heterochromatin-induced gene silencing. Recently, membership of the HP1 protein family has expanded tremendously. A number of intriguing interactions between HP1 and other proteins have been described, implicating HP1 in gene regulation, DNA replication, and nuclear architecture.

Reflections On Science And Technology, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Science and technology are frequently confused. This essay points out the bases for this confusion and then focuses on a basic distinction, namely, that whereas science brings us information that we have little choice but to absorb and reflect upon, technology is something that humans elect to do and, hence, can also elect not to do. It is proposed that technological ethics are most cogently undertaken with scientific understanding as the linchpin and religious/artistic sensibilities as the muse.

The Holes In Gould's Semipermeable Membrane Between Science And Religion, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Book review: Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life. Stephen Jay Gould. 241 pp. Ballantine Publishing Group, 1999.

Characterization Of Sequences Associated With Position-Effect Variegation At Pericentric Sites In Drosophila Heterochromatin, D Cryderman, M Cuaycong, Sarah C.R. Elgin, L Wallrath

Biology Faculty Research

In a variety of organisms, euchromatic genes brought into juxtaposition with pericentric heterochromatin show position-effect variegation (PEV), a silencing of gene expression in a subset of the cells in which the gene is normally expressed. Previously, a P-element mobilization screen identified transgenic Drosophila stocks showing PEV of an hsp70-white+ reporter gene; transgenes in many of these stocks map to the chromocenter of polytene chromosome. A screen at an elevated temperature identified two stocks that under standard culture temperatures show complete repression of the hsp70-white+ transgene. The transgenes in both cases map to the chromocenter of polytene chromosomes. Different types of …

An Actin-Related Protein In Drosophila Colocalizes With Heterochromatin Protein 1 In Pericentric Heterochromatin, S Frankel, E Sigel, C Craig, Sarah C.R. Elgin, M Mooseker, S Artavanis-Tsakonas

Biology Faculty Research

The actin-related proteins have been identified by virtue of their sequence similarity to actin. While their structures are thought to be closely homologous to actin, they exhibit a far greater range of functional diversity. We have localized the Drosophila actin-related protein, Arp4, to the nucleus. It is most abundant during embryogenesis but is expressed at all developmental stages. Within the nucleus Arp4 is primarily localized to the centric heterochromatin. Polytene chromosome spreads indicate it is also present at much lower levels in numerous euchromatic bands. The only other protein in Drosophila reported to be primarily localized to centric heterochromatin in …

Multiple Isoforms Of Gaga Factor, A Critical Component Of Chromatin Structure, C Benyajati, L Mueller, N Xu, M Pappano, J Gao, M Mosammaparast, D Conklin, H Granok, C Craig, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

The GAGA transcription factor of Drosophila melanogaster is ubiquitous and plays multiple roles. Characterization of cDNA clones and detection by domain- specific antibodies has revealed that the 70-90 kDa major GAGA species are encoded by two open reading frames producing GAGA factor proteins of 519 amino acids (GAGA-519) and 581 amino acids (GAGA-581), which share a common N-terminal region that is linked to two different glutamine-rich C-termini. Purified recombinant GAGA-519 and GAGA-581 proteins can form homomeric complexes that bind specifically to a single GAGA sequence in vitro. The two GAGA isoforms also function similarly in transient transactivation assays in tissue …

Chromosomes And Expression Mechanisms, Sarah C.R. Elgin, S. P. Jackson

Biology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Biology: What One Needs To Know, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Biology on this planet represents an astonishing experiment in carbon-based chemistry which, over billions of years, has generated billions of species adapted to countless major and minor fluctuations in ecological circumstances. In one sense there is no way to generalize about biology. While biological activities can all be ultimately explained by physical laws (like everything else in the universe), it is the emergent intensely particular properties of organisms that most interest us. This essay represents an attempt to describe some of the more prominent patterns that emerge from the sea of biological particularities, patterns that present many opportunities for religious …

Dna Representation Of Variegating Heterochromatic P-Element Inserts In Diploid And Polytene Tissues Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Lori L. Wallrath, Vamsi P. Guntur, L Rosman, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

Position-effect variegation (PEV) is the mosaic expression of a euchromatic gene brought into juxtaposition with heterochromatin. Fourteen different transformed Drosophila melanogaster lines with variegating P-element inserts were used to examine the DNA levels of these transgenes. Insert sites include pericentric, telomeric and fourth chromosome regions. Southern blot analyses showed that the heterochromatic hsp26 transgenes are underrepresented 1.3- to 33-fold in polytene tissue relative to the endogenous euchromatic hsp26 gene. In contrast, the heterochromatic hsp26 transgenes are present in approximately the same copy number as the endogenous euchromatic hsp26 gene in diploid tissue. It appears unlikely that DNA loss could account …

Heterochromatin And Gene Regulation In Drosophila, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

We have recently learned more about the biochemistry of heterochromatin and about how heterochromatic environments affect gene function. New findings have emphasized the distinctions between telomeric and pericentric heterochromatin in Drosophila and have suggested a mosaic structure within pericentric heterochromatin. Theories concerning the mechanism of inactivation of euchromatic genes in heterochromatic environments have been tested using transgenes inserted into heterochromatin. The current data support a competition/chromatin structure model, in which multiprotein repressor complexes compete with transcriptional activators to assemble an active or inactive chromatin structure.

Position Effect Variegation In Drosophila Is Associated With An Altered Chromatin Structure, Lori L. Wallrath, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

A euchromatic gene placed in the vicinity of heterochromatin by a chromosomal rearrangement generally exhibits position effect variegation (PEV), a clonally inherited pattern showing gene expression in some somatic cells but not in others. The mechanism responsible for this loss of gene expression is investigated here using fly lines carrying a P element containing the Drosophila melanogaster white and hsp26 genes. Following mobilization of the P element, a screen for variegation of white expression recovered inserts at pericentric, telomeric, and fourth chromosome regions. Previously identified suppressors of PEV suppressed white variegation of pericentric and fourth chromosome inserts but not telomeric …

The Religious Dimensions Of The Biological Narrative, Ursula W. Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

A cell/molecular biologist challenges the thesis that science and religion are two ways of experiencing and interpreting the world and explores instead the possible ways that the modern biological worldview might serve as a resource for religious perspectives. Three concepts—meaning, valuation, and purpose—are argued to be central to the entire biological enterprise, and the continuation of this enterprise is regarded as a sacred religious trust.

This article was originally delivered at the Templeton Symposium,„Science and Religion: Two Ways of Experiencing and Interpreting the World”organized by Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science and the Chicago Center for Religion and Science, 31 …

What Science Can And Cannot Offer To A Religious Narrative, Ursula W. Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

A molecular/cell biologist offers perspectives on the contributions that the scientific worldview might and might not make to religious though. It is argued that two essential features of institutionalized religions–their historical context and their supernatural orientation—are not addressed by the sciences, nor can the sciences contribute to the art and ritual that elicit states of faith and transcendence. The sciences have, however, important stories (myths) to offer, stories that have the potential to unify us, to tell us what is sacred, what has meaning, and how we might best proceed.

This paper, in slightly different form, was first presented before …

Insensitivity Of The Present Hsp26 Chromatin Structure To A Tata Box Mutation In Drosophila, Quinn Lu, Lori L. Wallrath, P Emanuel, Sarah C.R. Elgin, D Gilmour

Biology Faculty Research

The role of the TATA element in establishing the chromatin structure and inducible transcription of the Drosophila melanogaster hsp26 gene has been analyzed. An hsp26/lacZ fusion gene with a mutant promoter, in which the TATA box sequence TATAAA was changed to CCCAAA, was introduced into Drosophila by P-element transformation. The mutation had little effect on formation of the preset chromatin structure observed prior to induction. However, the mutation dramatically reduced transcription levels following heat shock. Northern analysis indicated that weak, inducible expression of the mutant promoter occurred within the same period of heat shock as for the normal promoter, suggesting …

Creativity In Science, Ursula W. Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Creativity is a concept far more often associated with art than with science. The creative dimension of scientific inquiry and practice is described and compared with its artistic counterpart; similarities and differences are analyzed.

She presented this paper at the Thirty-Seventh Annual Star Island Conference of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS), “Creativity, Non-Conformity, and Madness” at Star Island, New Hampshire, 28 July-4 August 1990.

Molecular Cloning Of A Human Homologue Of Drosophila Heterochromatin Protein Hp1 Using Anti-Centromere Autoantibodies With Anti-Chromo Specificity, W Saunders, C Chue, M Goebl, Carolyn Craig, Robert F. Clark, J Powers, J Eissenberg, Sarah C.R. Elgin, N Rothfield, W Earnshaw

Biology Faculty Research

We have identified a novel autoantibody specificity in scleroderma that we term anti-chromo. These antibodies recognize several chromosomal antigens with apparent molecular mass of between 23 and 25 kDa, as determined by immunoblots. Anti-chromo autoantibodies occur in 10-15% of sera from patients with anti-centromere antibodies (ACA). We used anti-chromo antibodies to screen a human expression library and obtained cDNA clones encoding a 25 kDa chromosomal autoantigen. DNA sequence analysis reveals this protein to be a human homologue of HP1, a heterochromatin protein of Drosophila melanogaster. We designate our cloned protein HP1Hs alpha. Epitope mapping experiments using both human and Drosophila …

Heterochromatin Protein 1, A Known Suppressor Of Position-Effect Variegation, Is Highly Conserved In Drosophila, Robert F. Clark, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

The Su(var)205 gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), a protein located preferentially within beta-heterochromatin. Mutation of this gene has been associated with dominant suppression of position-effect variegation. We have cloned and sequenced the gene encoding HP1 from Drosophila virilis, a distantly related species. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence with Drosophila melanogaster HP1 shows two regions of strong homology, one near the N-terminus (57/61 amino acids identical) and the other near the C-terminus (62/68 amino acids identical) of the protein. Little homology is seen in the 5' and 3' untranslated portions of the gene, as well …