Dr. Dailey's work focuses on deciphering the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in early embryogenesis. The lab initially found that the transcription factor Sox2 is expressed in ES cells, and acts synergistically with Oct4 to activate FGF4 gene expression in ES and embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells and the early embryo. This was the first report of a functional interaction between these two factors that has subsequently been shown to form a core component of the transcriptional circuitry of ES cells. Professor Dailey's research aims to extend the understanding of transcriptional regulation in ES cells beyond the Sox/Oct network using a new technology that they have developed for the high throughput, functional identification of promoters and enhancers that are specifically active in ES cells or their differentiated derivatives. Analyses of these elements will further an understanding of how the interplay of stage-specific transcription factors, DNA regulatory elements, and epigenetic mechanisms establishes the unique biological features of ES cells, and how these mechanisms are redirected upon ES cell differentiation.
Yaragatti, M., Basilico, C., and Dailey, L. (2008) Identification of Active Transcriptional Regulatory Modules by the Functional Assay of DNA from Nucleosome-free Regions. Genome Research 18:930-938
Ambrosetti, D-C., Basilico, C., and Dailey, L. (1997) Synergistic activation of the Fibroblast Growth Factor 4 enhancer by Sox 2 and Oct-3 depends on protein-protein interactions facilitated by a specific arrangement
of factor binding sites. Mol. Cell Biol. 17: 6321-6329.
Yuan, H.B., Corbi, N., Basilico, C., and Dailey, L. (1995) Developmental- specific activity of the FGF-4 enhancer requires the synergistic action of Sox2 and Oct-3. Genes and Dev. 9: 2635-2645.