Genome organisation

The FlyChip genomics facility was founded in 2000 to provide core genomics infrastructure to the UK fly community and since then we have been developing a variety of genomics resources and technologies.  We founded the International Drosophila Array Consortium to provide a community microarray platform for gene expression in Drosophila and continue to help fly researchers with their genomics requirements.

In the lab we are using a variety of genomics approaches to explore questions relating to the organisation of the Drosophila genome.  In collaboration with Rob White and Boris Adryan, we have used ChIP-array to map the in vivo binding sites for transcription facotrs and chromatin complexes such as insulatora and silencers.  More recently, we are part of a modENCODE project, led by Kevin White in Chicago, to map all of the fly insulators and silencers.

While the genomics approaches can provide maps of factor binding sites, even in specific tissues, determining the functional relevance of these sites in vivo remains a challenge.  We have recently been using DrosDel technology to make specific chromosomal rearangements that enabe us to test the relevance of associacions between sites or chromatin features in the intact fly.  The ability to manipulate the genome is a powerful advantage of Drosophila as a model metazoan.

Current Lab Members
Bettina Fischer

Former Lab Members

Collaborators
Boris Adryan
Sarah Bray
Tim Karr
Rob White
Kevin White