Laura Rusche, PhD
Research Interests
The Rusche lab studies the Sir2 family of deacetylases and their contributions to chromatin structure, transcriptional repression, and genome stability. Sir2 deacetylases, which are found in all kingdoms of life, have a wide range of biological functions and regulate key transitions in the life-cycles of many organisms. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sir2 is required for assembly of heterochromatin at the telomeres and mating-type loci and for suppressing recombination in the repetitive rDNA array. A closely related deacetylase, Hst1, represses genes required for meiosis and sporulation. We are studying how Sir2 and Hst1 govern the yeast life cycle (mating and sporulation) and how these proteins contribute to the formation of various flavors of repressive chromatin at different locations in the yeast genome.
Contact Information
Laura Rusche
Phone: 919-684-0354
2347 CIEMAS
lrusche@biochem.duke.edu