CONWAY, Ark. (March 1, 2018)
– Seven recent Hendrix College graduates and one current student are listed as
co-authors with their professor of a new article published in the peer-reviewed
journal Epigenetics.
The article, titled “Charged residues on the side of the
nucleosome contribute to normal Spt16-gene interactions in budding yeast,” includes contributions from Eugene
Nyamugenda ’14, A. Brandon Cox ’16, Jacob B. Pierce ’16, Ryan C. Banning ’14, Michelle
L. Huynh ’17, Catey May ’16, Claire E. Turkal ’18, laboratory technician Sarah
Marshall ’10, and Dr. Andrea A. Duina, Professor of Biology.
The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, known as
brewer’s yeast outside the scientific community, isn’t always used for making
beer. As a common model biological system for understanding various aspects of
cell biology, it provides a way for Duina and his students to examine how genes
function in cells.
“In a nutshell, our lab used
a combination of genetic and biochemical techniques to provide new insight into
how a protein involved in the expression of genes physically interacts with
yeast genes,” Duina said. “Since yeast cells are similar in many ways to human
cells, our findings also contribute to our understanding of gene function in
humans.”
The team’s work was
supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and funds from the
Hendrix Odyssey Program.
About
Hendrix College
A private liberal arts
college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as
one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That
Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.