Team
Flynn, Jullien PhD - Regular researcher
Associate professor - Université Laval
(1) Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering - Laval University
(2) Institute of integrative biology and systems (IBIS)
(3) Réseau Québecois en Reproduction
Jullien Flynn is interested in the functional significance of repetitive DNA, the most rapidly evolving part of the genome. Using genetics, genomics, and microscopy, her laboratory's research aims to understand how the instability of repetitive DNA impacts developmental processes during reproduction. Fruit flies (Drosophila virilis and Drosophila melanogaster) are the main model organisms used in the lab.
Research interest
Eukaryotic genomes are filled with tandem repeats that form long arrays, known as satellite DNA, which currently have no well-understood functions. The research in my laboratory aims to understand the functional impact of satellite DNA activities on male and female reproduction, using Drosophila as a model organism. Particularly, we have three main goals. First, we are interested in how instability of satellite DNA located near the centromere of chromosomes could contribute to chromosome segregation errors. We have developed a system that will allow us to determine factors at the DNA sequence and protein-binding level that cause varying rates of nondisjunction in Drosophila meiosis. Second, we are interested in how repeats present in the introns of fertility genes affects their expression in sperm development. Here we study two closely related species that have a 3-fold difference in the size of the Y chromosome, caused by the expansion of a single repeat family. Finally, we are interested in the evolution and possible functions of long noncoding RNAs produced from satellite DNA that are expressed in the germline.
Expertise
genome genomic instability chromosome aberrations repetitive sequences, nucleic acid meiosisPostdoctorate in biomedical sciences - Whitehead Institute (2024)
Ph.D. in Genetics, Genomics and Development - Cornell University (2021)
M.Sc. in Biology - McGill University (2016)
B.Sc. in Biology - McGill University (2015)