Breck E. Byers

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University of Washington
School of Medicine
Genome Sciences
ProfessorAppointed: 1981

Mailing Address

J205 Health Sciences
Box 357730
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington 98195-7360
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (206) 543-1657
Fax: (206) 543-0754
byers@genetics.washington.edu

Qualifications

Harvard University, Plant Ecology.
Harvard University, Cell and Molecular Biology.

Expertise and Research Interests

A predominant line of research in the Byers lab concerns the integration of mitotic spindle behavior with other aspects of the yeast cell cycle. Mutations that alter the formation and regulation fo spindle pole body--the organelle that plays a key role as the nucleation center for spindle microtubule assembly--lead to identifiable changes in subcellular structure. Detailed analysis of these changes by immunocytochemical and electron microscope methods reveal phenotypic characteristics that provide a framework for isolating yet other mutations affecting important components of the cell cycle mechanism. Functions of current interest include those that mediate the formation of a new spindle pole body at the beginning of the cell cycle or control separation of the newly formed spindle pole from the parental one so that the spindle can form. Other genes under study serve to maintain integrity of the mitotic spindle during the anaphase movements. Key methods include cloning of the relevant genes, sequencing anddeletion analysis, and creation of immunological tools (such as epitope-tagged alleles) for cytological studies.

Other research in the lab focuses on the mechanisms that mediate synapsis and recombination between homologous yeast chromosomes in prophase of meiosis. The protein encoded by the HOP1 (for homologue pairing) gene has been found to play a crucial role in assembly of the synaptonemal complex, an organelle that is highly conserved among eukaryotes. Other genes of interest coordinate the complex array of meiotic functions, some of them acting as ''checkpoints'' to ensure appropriate rates of progression through successive stages of the overall process.

Keywords

COS Keywords:

Cell Biology, Cytology, Immunology, Molecular Biology.

Languages

(Reading, Writing, Speaking)

French: (Basic, Basic, Basic)
German: (Basic, Basic, Basic)

Memberships

American Society for Cell Biology
American Society for Microbiology
Genetics Society of America

Honors and Awards

1991-2001, Merit Award, National Institutes of Health

Previous Positions

University of Geneva, Postdoctoral

Publications

  • Muniyappa K, Anuradha S, Byers B, Yeast meiosis-specific protein Hop1 binds to G4 DNA and promotes its formation, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 20(4), 1361-9, February 2000 Abstract
  • Munoz-Centeno MC, McBratney S, Monterrosa A, Byers B, Mann C, Winey M, Saccharomyces cerevisiae MPS2 encodes a membrane protein localized at the spindle pole body and the nuclear envelope, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 10(7), 2393-406, July 1999 Abstract
  • Mathias N, Johnson S, Byers B, Goebl M, The abundance of cell cycle regulatory protein Cdc4p is controlled by interactions between its F box and Skp1p, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 19(3), 1759-67, March 1999 Abstract
  • Kironmai KM, Muniyappa K, Friedman DB, Hollingsworth NM, Byers B, DNA-binding activities of Hop1 protein, a synaptonemal complex component from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 18(3), 1424-35, March 1998 Abstract
  • Dirick L, Goetsch L, Ammerer G, Byers B, Regulation of meiotic S phase by Ime2 and a Clb5,6-associated kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Science, 281(5384), 1854-7, 1998 Abstract
  • McDonald HB, Byers B, A proteasome cap subunit required for spindle pole body duplication in yeast, Journal of Cell Biology, 137(3), 539-53, May 1997 Abstract
  • Mathias N, Johnson SL, Winey M, Adams AE, Goetsch L, Pringle JR, Byers B, Goebl MG, Cdc53p acts in concert with Cdc4p and Cdc34p to control the G1-to-S-phase transition and identifies a conserved family of proteins, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 16(12), 6634-43, December 1996 Abstract
  • Zheng CJ, Byers B, When does maternal age-dependent trisomy 21 arise relative to meiosis?, American Journal of Human Genetics, 59(1), 268-9, July 1996 Abstract
  • Sundberg HA, Goetsch L, Byers B, Davis TN, Role of calmodulin and Spc110p interaction in the proper assembly of spindle pole body compenents, Journal of Cell Biology, 133(1), 111-24, April 1996 Abstract
  • Duden R, Hosobuchi M, Hamamoto S, Winey M, Byers B, Schekman R, Yeast beta- and beta'-coat proteins (COP). Two coatomer subunits essential for endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi protein traffic, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 269(39), 24486-95, September 1994 Abstract
  • Byers B, Hollingsworth NM, Meiosis. DNA branching during meiotic recombination, Current Biology, 4(5), 448-51, May 1994 Abstract
  • Goebl MG, Goetsch L, Byers B, The Ubc3 (Cdc34) ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme is ubiquitinated and phosphorylated in vivo, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 14(5), 3022-9, May 1994 Abstract
  • Friedman DB, Hollingsworth NM, Byers B, Insertional mutations in the yeast HOP1 gene: evidence for multimeric assembly in meiosis, Genetics, 136(2), 449-64, February 1994 Abstract
  • Zheng CJ, Byers B, Moolgavkar SH, Allelic instability in mitosis: a unified model for dominant disorders, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 90(21), 10178-82, November 1993 Abstract
  • Winey M, Byers B, Assembly and functions of the spindle pole body in budding yeast, Trends in Genetics, 9(9), 300-4, September 1993 Abstract
  • Thorne LW, Byers B, Stage-specific effects of X-irradiation on yeast meiosis, Genetics, 134(1), 29-42, May 1993 Abstract
  • Surana U, Amon A, Dowzer C, McGrew J, Byers B, Nasmyth K, Destruction of the CDC28/CLB mitotic kinase is not required for the metaphase to anaphase transition in budding yeast, Embo Journal, 12(5), 1969-78, May 1993 Abstract
  • McGrew JT, Goetsch L, Byers B, Baum P, Requirement for ESP1 in the nuclear division of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3(12), 1443-54, December 1992 Abstract
  • Fitch I, Dahmann C, Surana U, Amon A, Nasmyth K, Goetsch L, Byers B, Futcher B, Characterization of four B-type cyclin genes of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3(7), 805-18, July 1992 Abstract
  • Weber L, Byers B, A RAD9-dependent checkpoint blocks meiosis of cdc13 yeast cells, Genetics, 131(1), 55-63, May 1992 Abstract
  • Hayden MS, Byers B, Minimal extent of homology required for completion of meiotic recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Developmental Genetics, 13(6), 498-514, 1992 Abstract
  • Zheng CJ, Byers B, Oocyte selection: a new model for the maternal-age dependence of Down syndrome, Human Genetics, 90(1-2), 1-6, 1992 Abstract
  • Winey M, Goetsch L, Baum P, Byers B, MPS1 and MPS2: novel yeast genes defining distinct steps of spindle pole body duplication, Journal of Cell Biology, 114(4), 745-54, August 1991 Abstract
  • Winey M, Baum P, Goetsch L, Byers B, Genetic determinants of spindle pole body duplication in budding yeast, Cold Spring Harbor Symposia On Quantitative Biology, 56, 705-8, 1991 Abstract
  • Hollingsworth NM, Goetsch L, Byers B, The HOP1 gene encodes a meiosis-specific component of yeast chromosomes, Cell, 61(1), 73-84, April 1990 Abstract

Profile Details

Last Updated: 9/5/2002

COS Expertise ID #320042
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