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Gadi Shaulsky Baylor College of Medicine Department: Molecular and Human Genetics Address: One Baylor Plaza Rm S930 Houston, TX 77030 Phone: (713) 798-8082 Fax: (713) 798-1021 Email: gadi@bcm.tmc.edu Web: www.bcm.edu/db/db_fac-shaulsky.html

Education

B.Sc. Biology, Tel Aviv University, Israel (1985)
M.Sc. Biochemistry, Tel Aviv University, Israel (1986)
Ph.D. Cell Biology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel (1991)
Postdoctoral: Department of Biology, UC San Diego

Honors

2005 Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Award

2000-2002 Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar (March of Dimes)

1994-1996 American Cancer Society (California branch) Senior Postdoctoral fellowship

1992-1993 Rothschild Fund fellowship for postgraduate studies.

Research Topic

Genetics and Functional Genomics of Dictyostelium Development

Research Description

Functional genomics

We have used microarrays to discover gene function in development (Booth et al., 2005), de-differentiation (Katoh et al., 2004), spore germination (Xu et al., 2004), and in drug resistance (Van Driessche et al. 2007). We also showed that the microarray is a good phenotyping tool for discovering epistatic relationships between six genes in the cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase regulatory pathway (Van Driessche et al., 2005). In collaboration with Dr. Kuspa, we are generating insertional mutations in most Dictyostelium genes and using the mutants to discover gene function by parallel phenotyping and by expression analysis.

Data Mining

We are collaborating with Dr. Blaz Zupan and his group at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia to develop new concepts in genetic analysis. Together we have developed a tool that performs automated epistasis analysis http://genepath.org/. We also developed a tool that analyzes regulatory sequences in eukaryotic promoters http://dictybase.org/. We are currently developing a web tool that would access and analyze all of our microarray data.

The evolution of social behavior in Dictyostelium

Social organisms must deal with cheaters�individuals that reap the benefits of sociality without paying the costs. In Dictyostelium, some cells sacrifice themselves to benefit other cells that may be genetically different, providing a fertile ground for cheating. In collaboration with Drs. Strassmann and Queller at Rice University and Dr. Kuspa at BCM we found over 100 genes that participate in social interactions (Santorelli et al., 2008). We are using genetics to find and characterize additional genes that determine social decisions, find whether they are involved in rapid-evolutionary arms races, and test how cooperators resist cheating (Foster et al., 2004; Khare and Shaulsky, 2006).

bZIPs and the regulation of gene expression

A central signaling molecule in Dictyostelium is the Differentiation Inducing Factor (DIF-1) � A chlorinated alkylphenone. The mechanism of DIF signal reception is unknown. We isolated several strains that are insensitive to DIF-1 and identified dimA, which encodes a bZIP transcription factor (Thompson et al., 2004). We found another bZIP, dimB, that has overlapping functions with dimA (Huang et al., 2006). We are now mutating the remaining 17 bZIPs in the Dictyostelium genome to investigate their functions.

Selected Publications

• Shaulsky G, Loomis WF (1993). Cell type regulation in response to expression of ricin A in Dictyostelium. Dev. Biol. 160:85-98.
• Shaulsky G, Escalante R, Loomis WF (1996). Developmental Signal Transduction Pathways Uncovered by Genetic Suppressors. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:15260-15265.
• Shaulsky G, Fuller D, Loomis WF (1998). A cAMP-Phosphodiesterase controls PKA-dependent differentiation. Development 125:691-699.
• Van Driessche, N., Shaw, C., Katoh, M., Morio, T., Sucgang, R., Ibarra, M., Kuwayama, H., Saito, T., Shaulsky, G. et al. (2002). A Transcriptional Profile of Multicellular Development in Dictyostelium discoideum. Development, 129, 1543-1552.
• Zupan, B, Demsar, J, Bratko, I, Juvan, P, Halter, JA, Kuspa, A and Shaulsky, G (2003). GenePath: a System for Automated Construction of Genetic Networks from Mutant Data. Bioinformatics 19, 383-389.
• Kibler, K, Nguyen, TL, Svetz, J, Van Driessche, N, Ibarra, M, Thompson, C, Shaw, C and Shaulsky, G (2003). A Novel Developmental Mechanism in Dictyostelium Revealed in a Screen for Communication Mutants. Dev. Biol. 259: 193-208.
• Van Driessche, N., Shaw, C., Katoh, M., Morio, T., Sucgang, R., Ibarra, M., Kuwayama, H., Saito, T. and Shaulsky, G. (2002). A transcriptional profile of multicellular development in Dictyostelium discoideum. Development 129: 1543-1552.
• Zupan, B., Bratko, I., Demsar, J., Juvan, P., Curk, T., Borstnik, U., Beck., J.R., Halter, J., Kuspa, A. and Shaulky, G. (2003b). GenePath: a system for inference of genetic networks and proposal of genetic experiments. Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, 29: 107-130.
• Kibler, K., Svetz, J., Nguyen, T.L., Shaw, C. and Shaulsky, G. (2003b). A Cell-Adhesion Pathway Regulates Intercellular Communication During Dictyostelium development. Dev. Biol., 264:506-521.
• Thompson, C.R.L., Fu, Q., Buhay, C., Kay, R.R. and Shaulsky, G. A bZIP/bRLZ Transcription Factor Required For DIF Signaling in Dictyostelium. Development, 131:513-523 (2004).
• Katoh, M., Shaw, C., Xu, Q., Van Driessche, N., Morio, T., Kuwayama, H., Obara, S., Urushihara, H., Tanaka, Y., and Shaulsky, G. (2004). An Orderly Retreat: Dedifferentiation is a Regulated Process. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101, 7005-7010.
• Maeda, M., Lu, S., Shaulsky, G., Miyazaki, Y., Kuwayama, H., Tanaka, Y., Kuspa, A. and Loomis, W.F. (2004). Periodic signaling controlled by an oscillatory circuit that includes protein kinases ERK2 and PKA. Science, 304, 875-878
• Xu, Q., Ibarra, M., Mahadeo, D., Shaw, C., Huang, E., Kuspa, A., Cotter, D., and Shaulsky, G. (2004). Transcriptional Transitions During Dictyostelium Spore Germination. Eukaryotic Cell, 3, 1101-1110.
• Foster, K., Shaulsky, G., Strassmann, J., Queller, D. and Thompson, C. (2004). Multiple effects of a single gene promote cooperation. Nature, 431, 693-695.
• Booth, E. O., Driessche, N. V., Zhuchenko, O., Kuspa, A., and Shaulsky, G. (2005). Microarray phenotyping in Dictyostelium reveals a regulon of chemotaxis genes. Bioinformatics 21, 4371-4377.
• Curk, T., Demsar, J., Xu, Q., Leban, G., Petrovic, U., Bratko, I., Shaulsky, G., and Zupan, B. (2005). Microarray data mining with visual programming. Bioinformatics 21, 396-398.
• Eichinger, L., Pachebat, J. A., Glockner, G., Rajandream, M. A., Sucgang, R., Berriman, M., Song, J., Olsen, R., Szafranski, K., Xu, Q., et al. (2005). The genome of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Nature 435, 43-57.
• Juvan, P., Demsar, J., Shaulsky, G., and Zupan, B. (2005). GenePath: from mutations to genetic networks and back. Nucleic Acids Res 33, W749-752.
• Van Driessche, N., Demsar, J., Booth, E. O., Hill, P., Juvan, P., Zupan, B., Kuspa, A., and Shaulsky, G. (2005). Epistasis analysis with global transcriptional phenotypes. Nat Genet 37, 471-477.
• Xu, Q., and Shaulsky, G. (2005). GOAT: An R Tool for Analysing Gene Ontologytrade mark Term Enrichment. Appl Bioinformatics 4, 281-283.
• Huang, E., S. L. Blagg, T. Keller, M. Katoh, G. Shaulsky, and C. R. Thompson. (2006). bZIP transcription factor interactions regulate DIF responses in Dictyostelium. Development 133:449-58.
• Katoh, M., T. Curk, Q. Xu, B. Zupan, A. Kuspa, and G. Shaulsky. (2006). Developmentally Regulated DNA Methylation in Dictyostelium discoideum. Eukaryot Cell 5:18-25.
• Khare, A., and G. Shaulsky. (2006). First among equals: competition between genetically identical cells. Nat Rev Genet 7:577-83.
• Mehdiabadi, N. J., C. N. Jack, T. T. Farnham, T. G. Platt, S. E. Kalla, G. Shaulsky, D. C. Queller, and J. E. Strassmann. (2006). Kin Preference in a Social Microorganism. Nature 442:881-882.
• Mendoza, M. C., E. O. Booth, G. Shaulsky, and R. A. Firtel. (2007). MEK1 and Protein Phosphatase 4 Coordinate Dictyostelium Development and Chemotaxis. Mol Cell Biol 27:3817-3827.
• Van Driessche, N., Alexander, H., Min, J., Kuspa, A., Alexander, S. and Shaulsky, G. Global Transcriptional Responses to Cisplatin in Dictyostelium discoideum Identify Potential Drug Targets. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 15406–15411 (2007).
• Katoh, M., G. Chen, E. Roberge, G. Shaulsky, and A. Kuspa. Developmental Commitment in Dictyostelium discoideum. Eukaryot Cell 6:2038-2045 (2007).
• Santorelli, L.A., Thompson, C.R.L., Villegas, E., Svetz, J., Dinh, C., Parikh, A., Sucgang, R., Kuspa, A., Strassmann, J.E., Queller, D.C. and Shaulsky, G. Facultative cheater mutants reveal the genetic complexity of cooperation in social amoebae. Nature, 451, 1107-1110 (2008).

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Last edited on: September 22, 2009