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| Name |
Birchler, James A. |
| Location
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University of Missouri-Columbia |
| Primary Field
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Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences |
| Secondary Field
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Genetics |
 Election Citation
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Birchler engineered functional minichromosomes in maize that permit delivery of multiple disease resistance and other agronomic traits. His research on gene dosage response in maize and Drosophila is integral to the "gene balance hypothesis," a principle that explains how gene content changes during evolution, and may explain hybrid vigor. |
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Research Interests
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Research interests of his laboratory include structure and behavior of chromosomes, centromere epigenetics, heterosis, polyploidy and aneuploidy using maize as the model organism. Studies in Drosophila focus on gene silencing and dosage compensation. Artificial/synthetic chromosome platforms in maize have been developed. In general, the laboratory is interested in the consequences of dosage sensitive gene regulatory mechanisms in multicellular eukaryotes and their implications for the phenotype, gene expression, and evolutionary processes. |
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