Christine A. Rushlow

The paper identifies two distinct DNA-binding domains in Zelda that regulate its tissue-specific chromatin occupancy in Drosophila embryos and neuroblasts.

The paper shows that the pioneer factor Zelda induces female-specific traits in male Drosophila tissues by upregulating genes that promote feminization and override male identity.

The paper uses deep learning to analyze chromatin accessibility in Drosophila embryos, revealing a two-phase process driven by pioneer TFs and enhancer-activating TFs.

The paper shows that mutations in developmental enhancers in Drosophila mostly alter existing expression patterns, while random sequences can act as enhancers with broader expression, suggesting constraints on phenotypic novelty from existing enhancers.

The paper measures transcriptional kinetics at the sog locus in Drosophila to show that shadow enhancers integrate activation and repression signals differently, leading to distinct patterning outcomes.

The paper shows that active genes in Drosophila embryos are not spatially clustered but instead have distinct Pol II pools, supporting an 'individualist' model over a 'collectivist' model of gene regulation.

The paper investigates how the Drosophila pioneer factor Zelda enhances transcriptional output of the Dorsal target gene sog by modulating the nuclear microenvironment and increasing Dorsal accumulation at the enhancer.

The paper identifies cuticle collagen genes as downstream effectors of the DBL-1/BMP pathway in regulating body size in C. elegans and shows direct regulation through Smad binding elements.