Julie Merkle

Ph.D. Student
Laura Lee Lab

Hometown:

Nazareth, PA

Education:

B.S. Biology
Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA 2004

Publications:

Julie A. Merkle, Jamie L. Rickmyre, Aprajita Garg, Erin B. Loggins, Jeanne N. Jodoin, Ethan Lee, Louisa P. Wu, and Laura A. Lee. no poles encodes a predicted E3 ubiquitin ligase required for early embryonic development of Drosophila. Development (ACCEPTED).

Research:

My work focuses on characterizing a new cell cycle mutant, which we have named "no poles" (nopo). Embryos from nopo females undergo mitotic arrest prior to cellularization with a high frequency of acentrosomal spindles, misaligned chromosomes, and tripolar spindles. Genetic studies show that Checkpoint kinase 2 is activated in nopo mutants, suggesting that nopo helps maintain genomic integrity. nopo is the Drosophila homolog of the human TRIP gene (TRIP=TRAF-interacting protein, TRAF=TNF-α receptor-associated factor). Human TRIP has been shown to interact with Traf proteins, but its role in TNF signaling is controversial.

NOPO/TRIP contains a RING domain, which resembles that of known E3 ubiquitin ligases, at its amino terminus. Currently, ubiquitination assays are underway to test whether NOPO has E3 ligase activity. Future goals include identifying NOPO targets and interactors so as to uncover how NOPO promotes genomic stability.