Molecular and cellular biology of messenger RNA (mRNA) biosynthesis and intracellular trafficking in mammalian muscle cell differentiation, development and cancer; molecular genetics of muscular dystrophies and muscle cell cancers. The role of mRNA binding proteins and RNA helicases in transcription termination, polyadenylation, mRNA nucleo-cytoplasmic transport and cytoplasmic localization; light, electron and scanning probe microscopy for imaging in vitro and in vivo gene expression and intracellular trafficking.
B.S. in Chemistry, University of Arizona, 1972
Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry, University of California at Santa Cruz, 1978
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon,
1978-82
Visiting NIH Postdoctoral fellow, 1982, Univ. of North Carolina
Visiting Scientist, 1996, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Visiting Scientist, 1999-2003, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Current Lab Personnel
Jeff Hanrahan, M.D., Pediatric Oncology Fellow
Tamara Howard, Staff Scientist
Brian Reinert, M.D. Ph.D., Student
Lifan Zhao, Ph.D., Research Specialist
Aaron Brooks, Student
Emily Crump, Student
Selected Publications
Carey, R.B., Peterson, S.R., Wang, J-T., Bear, D.G., Bradbury, E.M. and Chen,
D.J. (1997) DNA Looping by Ku and the DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase.
Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 94: 4267-4272.
Shuman, S., Bear, D.G., and Sekiguchi, J. (1997) Intramolecular Synapsis of
Duplex DNA by Vaccinia Topoisomerase.
EMBO J. 3: 6584-6589.
Jett, S.D. and Bear, D.G. (1998) Snapshot Blotting of Nucleic Acids and
Nucleoprotein Complexes, in Cells: A Laboratory Manual (D.L.Spector, R.D.
Goldman and L.A. Leinwand, eds.), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring
Harbor, NY, pp. 126.1-126.17.
Keller, R., Kuehn, U., Aragon, M., Bornikova, L., Wahle, E. and Bear, D.G.
(2000) The Nuclear Poly(A) Binding Protein, PABP2, Forms an Oligomeric Particle
Covering the Length of the Poly(A) Tail.
J. Mol. Biol. 297: 569-583.
Becher, M.W., Kotzuk, J.A., Davis, L.E. and Bear, D.G. (2000) Intranuclear
Inclusions in Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy Contain Poly(A) Binding Protein
2.
Annals of Neurology 48: 812-815.
Becher, M.W., Morrison, L., Davis, L.E., Maki, W.C., King, M.K., Bicknell, J.M.,
Reinert, B.L., Bartolo, C., and Bear, D.G. (2001) Oculopharyngeal Muscular
Dystrophy in Hispanic New Mexicans.
J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 286: 2437-2440.
Bear DG, Fomproix N, Soop T, Bjorkroth B, Masich S, Daneholt
B. (2003) Nuclear poly(A)-binding protein PABPN1 is associated with RNA
polymerase II during transcription and accompanies the released transcript to
the nuclear pore.
Exp Cell Res. 2003;286:332-44.
