Professor Email: botin@ust.hk

Research Interests
Dinoflagellates have some of the largest known genomes (up to 80 times human genome size) with birefringent chromosomes. Counter-intuitively, dinoflagellate chromosomes are apparently nucleosomeless in the bulk of their chromosomes and have the lowest known basic protein to DNA ratio with dinoflagellate histone-like proteins (dHlps) as major chromosomal proteins.

Current research focuses on chromosome structures and functions, topoisomerases, condensins, novel chromosomal binding proteins and transformation systems.

Selected Publications

Fojtová, M., Wong J.T.Y., Dvořáčková, M., Yan, K.T.H., Sýkorová, E. and Fajkus J. (2010) Telomere maintenance in liquid crystalline chromosomes of dinoflagellates. Chromosoma [Epub: DOI: 10.1007/s00412-010-0272-y ]

Leung, S.K.and Wong, J.T.Y. (2009) The Replication of Plastid Minicircles Involves Rolling Circle Intermediates. Nucleic Acids Research 37(6): 1991-2002.

Yuk-Hang Chan and Wong J.T.Y. (2007) Concentration-dependent organization of DNA by the dinoflagellate histone-like protein HCc3. Nucleic Acids Research; 35 (8): 2573-2583.

Mak C.K.M., Hung V.K.L., and Wong J.T.Y. (2005) Type II Topoisomerase activities in both G1 and G2/M phases of the dinoflagellate cell cycle. Chromosoma 114:420-431

Wong, J.T.Y, New, D.C., Wong J.C.W., and Hung, V.K.L.(2003) The dinoflagellate basic chromosomal proteins (HCCs) have homologies to bacterial DNA-binding proteins. Eukaryotic Cell 2:646-650.

Kwok A.C. M. and Wong J. T.Y. (2010) Activities of a walled-bound cellulase is coupled to and is required for cell cycle progression in a dinoflagellate. Plant Cell [Epub: doi/10.1105/tpc.109.070243]

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