Biography:

Dr. Jill Pecon Slattery has received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University integrating principles of ecology, population genetics and evolutionary studies. She received a NIH Intramural Research Training Award as a post-doctoral fellow at the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity. Currently a Staff Scientist for LGD-CCR, Dr. Pecon Slattery provides expertise in comparative genomic, genetic and phylogenetic aspects the structure, function and evolution of genes and genomes.

Research:

1. Comparative genomic analyses of complex gene loci.
   Our research uses comparative genomics to investigate pathways of linked genes involved with disease in humans. An example is SRY (Sex-determining Region of Y), which is one of the most vital genes on the mammalian Y chromosome and triggers a cascade of genes resulting in development of testis early in development. We sequenced SRY in 36 species of cat and discovered that SRY evolves in a unique fashion exhibiting a number of inconsistencies that provide insights into this developmentally vital gene. The unusual pattern of selection in SRY observed in some species may be linked with congruent changes within the developmental pathway as a whole. We are currently investigating these genes known to interact with SRY to test this hypothesis.


2. Genome Annotation: The Cat Y Chromosome
   The Y chromosome is unique within the mammalian genome due to its vital role in sex determination, known links with human disease and its unusual structure and gene organization. Y-linked genes are involved with a wide-range of important biological functions so that deleterious changes these genes may lead to cancers, infertility, sex-reversal and neurologic diseases. Investigation of these diseases requires a comprehensive overview of gene evolution and organization on the Y chromosome not possible with sequence from one species. The cat Y chromosome research effort at LGD is focused on the development of development of Y linked markers, determination of gene organization, comparative genome analyses with human Y, and estimation of patterns of evolution within single and multi-copy genes.
3. Comparative Genomics of Emerging Pathogens
   We apply comparative genomic methods to study genetic changes linked with emergence of viral pathogens in primates and felids. Our investigations of retroviruses such as human and simian T-cell leukemia viruses (HTLV/STLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) describe pathogen strategies consisting of long periods of evolution with host species, pattern of dissemination linked with ancestral and ongoing host migration, and episodes of recent rapid diversification into new host species and populations. Our research of feline coronavirus in domestic cat and cheetah, related to SARS in humans, investigate genetic changes and virulence in new host species. Ongoing full-length genome projects describe the role of selection, recombination and adaptive evolution in viral emergence.

Publications:

King, V., P. N. Goodfellow, A. J. Pearks Wilkerson, W. E. Johnson, O'Brien SJ, and J. Pecon Slattery. 2007. Evolution of the male determining gene SRY within the cat family Felidae. Genetics. [ PDF ]

O'Brien, S. J., J. L. Troyer, M. Roelke, L. Marker, and J. Pecon-Slattery. 2006. Plagues and adaptation: Lessons from the Felidae models for SARS and AIDS. Biological Conservation 131:255-267.

Pecon-Slattery, J., A. J. Pearks Wilkerson, W. J. Murphy, and S. J. O'Brien. 2004. Phylogenetic assessment of introns and SINEs within the Y chromosome using the cat family Felidae as a species tree. Mol Biol Evol 21:2299-2309.

Pecon Slattery, J., L. Sanner-Wachter, and S. J. O'Brien. 2000. Novel gene conversion between X-Y homologues located in the nonrecombining region of the Y chromosome in Felidae (Mammalia). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97:5307-5312. Genomic evolution, patterns of glob

Slattery, J. P., G. Franchini, and A. Gessain. 1999. Genomic evolution, patterns of global dissemination, and interspecies transmission of human and simian T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic viruses. Genome Res 9:525-540.

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