Dr. Alison J. Crowe

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University of Washington
Biology
Senior LecturerAppointed: 2004
University of Washington
College of Arts and Sciences
Zoology
Acting Assistant ProfessorAppointed: 2000

Mailing Address

Department of Biology
Box 351800
24 Kincaid Hall
Seattle, Washington 98195-1800
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (206) 616-6945
Fax: (206) 616-2011
acrowe@u.washington.edu

Qualifications

Ph.D., State University of New York at Stony Brook, Molecular Microbiology, 1993.
B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, Microbiology, 1987.

Expertise and Research Interests

Our lab is interested in how tissue-specific gene expression patterns are established and maintained during development. Of particular interest are the epigenetic mechanisms that enable established expression patterns to be propagated from one cellular generation to the next. The lab uses both in vitro chromatin transcription/replication systems and cell culture models to address these questions. Currently, we are studying two tissue-specific genes: alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and beta-phaseolin.

AFP is a liver-specific gene that encodes a tumor marker protein diagnostic of hepatocellular carcinoma. Endoderm-specific expression of AFP is determined, in part, by the restricted expression of the hepatic-enriched winged-helix transcription factors Foxa1and Foxa2. Foxa proteins facilitate AFP transcription in hepatocytes by remodeling chromatin and stabilizing transcription preinitiation complexes. We are currently exploring the mechanisms by which Foxa proteins establish and maintain AFP expression.

Beta-phaseolin, isolated from P. vulgaris (bean), is a storage protein gene that is expressed exclusively during embryo development with peak expression occurring during the mid-maturation phase. Silencing of this gene in non-embryonic tissues isdependent on chromosomal integration and appears to be mediated by chromatin structure at the transcription start site. Our lab is interested in determining what protein(s) and mechanisms are involved in the embryonic-specific activation of beta-phaseolin. We are developing a plant-based in vitro chromatin assembly/transcription system in order to address these questions.

Keywords

COS Keywords:

Agricultural Biotechnology, Biochemistry, DNA Replication, Gene Expression, Genetics, Seed Production, Transcription, Zoology.

Additional Terms:

Biochemical, Chromatin, DNA Replication, Developmental, Epigenetic Regulation, Gene Expression Regulation, Genetic, Genetics, Plant, Regulation, Tissue-specificity, Transcription.

Languages

(Reading, Writing, Speaking)

French: (Functional, Functional, Functional)

Memberships

American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
American Society of Plant Biologists
Society for Developmental Biology

Previous Positions

1995-2000, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Molecular Genetics
1993-1995, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary, Biology, Botany

Publications

  • Grace ML, Chandrasekharan MB, Hall TC, Crowe AJ, Sequence and spacing of TATA box elements are critical for accurate initiation from the beta-phaseolin promoter, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279(9), 8102-10, Feb 2004 Abstract
  • Barton MC, Crowe AJ, Chromatin alteration, transcription and replication: What's the opening line to the story?, Oncogene, 20(24), 3094-9, 2001 Abstract
  • Crowe AJ, Piechan JL, Sang L, Barton MC, S-Phase progression mediates activation of a silenced gene in synthetic nuclei, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 20(11), 4169-80, June 2000 Abstract
  • Crowe, A.J., Abenes, L., Plant, A., M.M. Moloney, ABI3 transactivates oleosin gene expression, Plant Science, 151, 171-181, 2000
  • Crowe AJ, Sang L, Li KK, Lee KC, Spear BT, Barton MC, Hepatocyte nuclear factor 3 relieves chromatin-mediated repression of the alpha-fetoprotein gene, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 274(35), 25113-20, 1999 Abstract
  • Crowe AJ, Barton MC, Functional analysis of chromatin assembled in synthetic nuclei, Methods, 17(2), 173-87, February 1999 Abstract
  • Lee KC, Crowe AJ, Barton MC, p53-mediated repression of alpha-fetoprotein gene expression by specific DNA binding, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 19(2), 1279-88, February 1999 Abstract
  • Crowe AJ, Barton MC, In vitro reconstitution of nuclei for replication and transcription, Methods in Enzymology, 304, 63-76, 1999 Abstract
  • Crowe AJ, McGlade J, Pawson T, Hayman MJ, Phosphorylation of the SHC proteins on tyrosine correlates with the transformation of fibroblasts and erythroblasts by the v-sea tyrosine kinase, Oncogene, 9(2), 537-44, February 1994 Abstract
  • Crowe AJ, Hayman MJ, Altered glycosylation of the env-sea oncoprotein inhibits intracellular transport and transformation, Cell Growth and Differentiation, 4(5), 403-10, May 1993 Abstract
  • Crowe AJ, Hayman MJ, Post-translational modifications of the env-sea oncogene product: the role of proteolytic processing in transformation, Oncogene, 8(1), 181-9, January 1993 Abstract
  • Crowe AJ, Hayman MJ, A myristylated form of the sea oncoprotein can transform chicken embryo fibroblasts, Journal of Virology, 65(5), 2533-8, May 1991 Abstract
  • George CX, Crowe A, Munemitsu SM, Atwater JA, Samuel CE, Biosynthesis of reovirus-specified polypeptides. Molecular cDNA cloning and nucleotide sequence of the reovirus serotype 1 Lang strain s2 mRNA which encodes the virion core polypeptide sigma 2, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 147(3), 1153-61, 1987 Abstract

Profile Details

Last Updated: 12/13/2004

COS Expertise ID #992924
Reference this profile directly: http://myprofile.cos.com/acrowe