Current position
Professor, Comparative Genomics, RSBS
Group Leader, Comparative Genomics, RSBS
Research interests
My research focusses on the understanding of mammalian genome
organization and evolution, exploiting the genetic diversity of
Australia's unique mammals as a source of genetic variation to
study highly conserved genetic structures and processes. This
strategy is used to shed light on the organization, function and
evolution of mammalian genomes, leading to new theories of the
origin and evolution of human sex chromosomes and sex determining
genes. Early work made classic contributions to our understanding
of the molecular mechanism of X chromosome inactivation and the
control of DNA synthesis in mammalian cells.
Selected Publications
Graves, J.A.M. 1972. DNA synthesis in heterokaryons formed by
fusion of mammalian cells from different species. Exptl. Cell
Res. 72: 393-403.
One of the the first experiments identifying factors controlling
the onset of DNA synthesis and mitosis in somatic mammalian cells;
the forerunner of a whole field of research on the identity and
action of factors regulating mammalian cell growth.
Graves, J.A.M. 1982. 5-azacytidine-induced re-expression of alleles
on the inactive X chromosome in a Mus musculus x M.
caroli cell line. Exptl. Cell Res. 141: 99-105.
The first demonstration that DNA methylation is involved in X
chromosome inactivation in the mouse embryo.
Graves, J.A.M. and Gartler, S.M. 1986. Mammalian X chromosome
inactivation; testing the hypothesis of transcriptional control.
Somat. Cell Molec. Genet. 12: 275-280.
The first experimental demonstration that X chromosome inactivation
represents transcriptional repression (critical to the theory
that X inactivation is a prime example of transcriptional control
in heterochromatin).
Graves, J.A.M. 1987. The evolution of mammalian sex chromosomes
and dosage compensation - clues from marsupials and monotremes.
Trends in Genetics 3: 252-256 (cover story).
Hypothesis (now widely accepted) that mammalian sex chromosomes
gained or lost large regions in evolution, accompanied by changes
in dosage compensation.
Sinclair, A.H., Foster, J.W., Spencer, J.A., Page, D.C., Palmer,
M., Goodfellow, P.N. and Graves, J.A.M. 1988. Sequences homologous
to ZFY, a candidate human sex-determining gene, are autosomal
in marsupials. Nature 336: 780-783 (cover story).
First demonstration that ZFY is not the mammalian testis determining
gene; triggered a major shift in direction in the field of human
sex determination.
Full List of Publications
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