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My research focuses on investigating regulatory mechanisms of eukaryotic gene expression.  Currently, my laboratory is focusing on genes that are involved in fungal cell wall metabolism.  The fungal cell wall, which is composed of polysaccharides and glycoproteins, is essential for growth and metabolism of the fungus and is an excellent target for antifungal drugs.  We have identified several genes that play specific roles in cell wall metabolism in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans including genes that have homologues that have been found to be involved in establishing and maintaining cell wall integrity in yeasts and several other previously uncharacterized genes.  Experiments are being conducted to investigate the regulation of message production of these genes, to observe the cellular localization of the proteins during different stages of fungal development, and to learn more about the specific role of each of them in cell wall metabolism.

Links to Collaborators

Dr. Darlene Loprete, Rhodes Chemistry department
Dr. Terry Hill, Rhodes Biology department

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Hill, T. W, L. Jackson-Hayes, X. Wang, and B. L. Hoge. 2015. "A mutation in the converter subdomain of Aspergillus nidulans MyoB blocks constriction of the actomyosin ring in cytokinesis." Fungal Genetics & Biology 75: 72-83.

Jackson-Hayes, L., T. W. Hill, D. M. Loprete, C. DelBove, J. Shapiro, J. Henley, and O. Dawodu.2015. "Two amino acid sequences direct Aspergillus nidulans protein kinase C (PkcA) localization to hyphal apices and septation sites." Mycologia Accepted for Publication.

Gremillion, S. K., S. D. Harris, L. Jackson-Hayes, S. G. W. Kaminskyj, D. M. Loprete, A. C. Gauthier,S. Mercer, A. J. Ravita, and T. W. Hill. 2014. "Mutations in proteins of the Conserved Oligomeric Golgi complex affect polarity, cell wall structure, and glycosylation in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans." Fungal Genetics & Biology 73: 69-82.

Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Terry W. Hill, Darlene M. Loprete, Barbara S. Gordon, Chassidy J. Groover, Laura R. Johnson, Stuart A. Martin. (2010) “GDP-mannose transporter paralogues play distinct roles in polarized growth of Aspergillus nidulans.” Mycologia, 102(2), 305.

Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Lauren M. Fay, Barbara Gordon, Stuart Martin, Sonia Nkashama, Ravi Patel, Stanley R. Vance, Caroline V. Sartain, Terry W. Hill, and Darlene M. Loprete. (2008) “Two GDP-mannose transporters contribute to cell wall integrity in Aspergillus nidulans.” Microbiology 154, 2037.

Shulan Song, Yi Zhang, Ke Ma, Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Eduard N. Lavrentyev, George A. Cook, Marshall B. Elam, and Edwards A. Park, “Peroxisomal Proliferator Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator (PGC-1 alpha) Stimulates Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-I alpha) through the First Intron”, Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 2004, 1679(2), 164.

Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Shulan Song, Eduard N. Lavrentyev, Michelle S. Jansen, F. Bradley Hillgartner, Liquin Tian, Philip A. Wood, George A. Cook, and Edwards A. Park, "A Thyroid Hormone Response Unit Formed between the Promoter and First Intron of the Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase-I Gene Mediates the Liver-specific Induction by Thyroid Hormone", J. Biol. Chem. 2003, 278, 7964.

PRESENTATIONS

Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Terry W. Hill, Darlene M. Loprete, Claire DelBove, Justin Shapiro, Jordan Henley, Omolola Dawodu. (2014) “PkcA localization depends on two highly conserved amino acid regions.” 12th European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Seville, Spain.

Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Terry W. Hill, Darlene M. Loprete, Claire DelBove, Justin Shapiro, Jordan Henley, Omolola Dawodu.  (2013) “Conserved sequences are required for PkcA localization to septation sites and hyphal tips.”  27th Fungal Genetics Conference, Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA. 

Kristen E. Wendt, Michael Pluta, Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Terry W. Hill. (2012) “Myosin light chain plays a role in cell division in the fungus Aspergillus nidulans.”  American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Annual meeting,  San Diego, CA.

Xiao Wang, Wenbin Du, Brianna L. Hoge, Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Terry W. Hill. (2012) “Myosin-II is necessary for septum formation in Aspergillus nidulans.”  American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Annual meeting, San Diego, CA.

Terry W. Hill, Loretta Jackson‐Hayes, Xiao Wang, (2012) “Actin precedes myosin in formation of contractile rings in Aspergillus nidulans.” European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Marburg, Germany.

Tyra T. Hayes, Darlene M. Loprete, Terry W. Hill, Loretta Jackson-Hayes. (2010 and 2011) “Regulation of the Rom2 gene and its roles in the signaling transduction pathway in Aspergillus nidulans.”  Emerging Researchers National Conference. Washington, D.C.  Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, Charlotte, NC.

Jordan Henley, Terry W. Hill, Darlene M. Loprete, Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Claire DelBove, Ashley Poullard. (2011)  “The role of PkcA in septum formation in Aspergillus nidulans.”  2011 Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM, Washington, DC.

24th Fungal Genetics Conference, March 20-25, 2007, Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA    
Title:  Putative mannose transporters complement a branching/septation defect in Aspergillus nidulans.
Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Lauren Fay, Terry W. Hill and Darlene M. Loprete

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting (national/international), April 1-5, 2006, San Francisco, CA
Title: Putative mannose transporters are involved in establishing cell wall integrity in Aspergillus nidulans.
Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Lauren Faye, Caroline Sartain, Terry W. Hill and Darlene M. Loprete

57 th Southeast / 61 st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, November 1-5, 2005, Memphis, TN
Title: Putative mannose transporters contribute to cell wall stability in Aspergillus nidulans.
Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Lauren Faye, Terry W. Hill, and Darlene M. Loprete