>> As long as I'm posting this query, and it is my first post to the listserv,
>> I might as well introduce myself. I will likely be contributing more in
>> the future, though I am not likely to be as prolific as some of you.
>>
>> A couple of weeks ago, I successfully defended my dissertation and
>> completed my Ph.D. in evolutionary and population biology from Washington
>> University in St. Louis. My research centered on molecular evolution of
>> ribosomal DNA within and among related species of the plant genus
>> _Arabidopsis_ (one species of this plant genus, _A. thaliana_, is the model
>> organism in plant genetics, analogous to fruitflies). For those that
>> aren't familiar molecular biology, ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is the term given
>> to the DNA that encodes the hundreds of tandemly repeated copies of the
>> ribosomal RNA genes. Ribosomal RNAs form the main component of ribosomes,
>> which are responsible for all translation of proteins. Concerted evolution
>> refers to a specific pattern of sequence variation among the hundreds of
>> repeated rRNA genes when measured within and among species. If people are
>> interested, perhaps I'll post a simple review of this interesting topic at
>> some later date.
Doug,
Glad to have you around. I've been laying low for some time with my new job
keeping my busy. Very interesting research. I look forward to hearing (and
reading) about it soon. I also work on plant rDNA evolution. I have
characterized plastid rDNAs (secondary structures) from the bizarre
holoparasitic plants as part of my post-doctoral work. My research now
revolves around characterizing the rDNA cistron from plant mitochondrial
genomes across all land plants. I've sequenced the SSU from all major land
plant representatives and used those to produce a phylogeny of land plants
and currently am working on the LSU and determing the structure of the
whole cistron. In the case of the mtDNA there is (usually) only one copy as
you probably are aware. We will have to talk sometime. I'm not going to
the evolution meetings but my students and I are presenting two posters at
the Society for the Study of Molecular Biology and Evolution meetings which
are being yeld at Yale this coming Sunday (won't be attending Sunday)
through Teusday. If anyone esle out there is going I would love to meet
you.
Again, welcome aboard Doug,
Regards,
Joel Duff
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