Genetics and Genomics

In collaboration with nearby departments at the Karolinska Institute, we have research activities covering the entire discipline of genetics as well as the new field of functional genomics. The subject of genetics started as the study of how functional traits are inherited from one individual to another as well as the mechanisms by which they spread within populations. Jan Böhme studies the mechanism by which gene families diversify and Mats Grahn has shown that such large gene families, associated with the immune response and detoxification, may also play important roles in mate choice and thereby the spread of these genes in populations. Diverse genes are also used in the work of Mikael Lönn as important markers to follow the spread of individual organisms and their offspring within complex ecosystems.

 

Early in the development of genetics the field of experimental genetics in model organisms was established, in which mutations are used to probe the function of individual genes in the context of intact organisms. Karl Ekwall, Ann Mutvei and Anthony Wright are using this approach in yeast to understand the function of the cell nucleus, for example, how different cells selectively use different genes at different times. Other groups use experimental genetics in nematodes (Thomas Bürglin and Peter Swoboda ), fruit flies (Per Kylsten and Mitch Dushay), zebrafish (Gieselbert Hauptmann), mice (Stefan Teglund) and flowering plants (Annika Sundås-Larsson) to investigate important aspects of signal transduction and developmental biology.

 

In recent years the complete DNA sequence of genomes from several organisms has opened the way for the new area of functional genomics. The function of many previously undiscovered genes is being investigated within our model organism groups. Thomas Bürglin, Karl Ekwall and Anthony Wright are using DNA microarray technology the study global changes in genome expression and chromatin structure. Thomas Bürglin and Mats Grahn are using bioinformatics approaches to study the evolution of protein families and the significance of non-coding intron sequences within many genes.