Sweeney Kate

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Sweeney
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Kate
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  • Article
    The protein that binds to DNA base J in trypanosomatids has features of a thymidine hydroxylase
    (Oxford University Press, 2007-03-27) Yu, Zhong ; Genest, Paul-Andre ; ter Riet, Bas ; Sweeney, Kate ; DiPaolo, Courtney ; Kieft, Rudo ; Christodoulou, Evangelos ; Perrakis, Anastassis ; Simmons, Jana M. ; Hausinger, Robert P. ; van Luenen, Henri G. A. M. ; Rigden, Daniel J. ; Sabatini, Robert ; Borst, Piet
    Trypanosomatids contain an unusual DNA base J (ß-D-glucosylhydroxymethyluracil), which replaces a fraction of thymine in telomeric and other DNA repeats. To determine the function of base J, we have searched for enzymes that catalyze J biosynthesis. We present evidence that a protein that binds to J in DNA, the J-binding protein 1 (JBP1), may also catalyze the first step in J biosynthesis, the conversion of thymine in DNA into hydroxymethyluracil. We show that JBP1 belongs to the family of Fe2+ and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases and that replacement of conserved residues putatively involved in Fe2+ and 2-oxoglutarate-binding inactivates the ability of JBP1 to contribute to J synthesis without affecting its ability to bind to J-DNA. We propose that JBP1 is a thymidine hydroxylase responsible for the local amplification of J inserted by JBP2, another putative thymidine hydroxylase.
  • Article
    Experimental evidence that ovary and oviducal gland extracts influence male agonistic behavior in squids
    (Marine Biological Laboratory, 2004-02) Buresch, Kendra C. ; Boal, Jean G. ; Nagle, Gregg T. ; Knowles, Jamie ; Nobuhara, Robert ; Sweeney, Kate ; Hanlon, Roger T.
    Recent investigations of sensory and behavioral cues that initiate sexual selection processes in the squid Loligo pealeii have determined that egg capsules deposited on the substrate provide a strong visual and chemotactile stimulus to males, even in the absence of females (1, 2, 3). The visual stimulus of egg capsules attracts males to the eggs, and when the males touch the eggs, they encounter a chemical stimulus that leads to highly aggressive fighting behavior. We have recently demonstrated that egg capsule extracts implanted in artificial egg capsules elicit this aggressive behavior (4). In this communication, we present evidence that the salient chemical factor originates in the ovary and perhaps the oviducal gland of the female reproductive tract.