2001 Directory                                                        Faculty Information Page 2001
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Dr. Narayanaswamy Bharathan Assist. Prof. of Biology Indiana Univ. of PA

Electronic Mail Address Bharathn@grove.iup.edu   Telephone Office: (724) 357-2584 Biology Department Office: (724) 357-2352 FAX: (724) 357-5700     Semester Schedule Office Hours Teaching Schedule

IUP Campus Address 319 Weyandt Hall Department of Biology Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705

         Current research projects include
1) Characterization and molecular analysis of the genome of the Tomato Mosaic virus (ToMV) using reverse transcription PCR.
2) Comparative analysis of DNA homology to establish taxonomic relationships of fungi. The specific genes, total nuclear DNS, and or plasmids of various species or isolates could be compared by sequencing or nucleic acid hybridization.
3) Past experience with Rhizoctonia solani system suggests that transposable elements (Ty) exist in plant pathogenic fungi, and they could be involved in the activation and inactivation of genes for pathogenicity, or race specificity. Filamentous fungi generally contain small fraction of repetitive sequences, which are primarily composed of genes for rDNA, but which also include Ty elements. If the homology that exists between Ty elements in yeast and some higher eukaryotes is general, it will be possible to detect these elements in filamentous fungi by searching for homology between the non-ribosomal repetitive DNA and a cloned Ty element. Alternatively, since chromosomal location of at least some copies of Ty will differ among individuals, such elements could be detected by RFLPs.