Thinker in Residence, University of Canberra
Head, Comparative Genomics, Research School of Biology, ANU
Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne

University of Canberra ACT 2601 Australia Phone (02) 6125 2492 Email firstname.lastname@anu.edu.au

Education

PhD 1971, University of California (Berkeley)
MSc 1967, University of Adelaide
BSc Hons 1963, University of Adelaide

Research and Professional Interests

My group has made seminal contributions to the understanding of mammalian genome organization and evolution, exploiting the genetic diversity of Australia’s unique animals as a source of genetic variation to study highly conserved genetic structures and processes. Our studies of the chromosomes and genes of kangaroos and platypus, devils (Tasmanian) and dragons (lizards) has shed light on the organization, function and evolution of mammalian genomes and led to influential new theories of the origin and evolution of human sex chromosomes and sex determining genes. I retain an early interest in X chromosome inactivation and my group is using an evolutionary strategy to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic control.

I have been involved in international comparative gene mapping and genomics from the 1980s. As co-chair and co-editor of the Comparative Committee of the Human Gene Mapping workshops from 1987, I promulgated the value of comparison of gene maps, and the special value of including distantly related vertebrate species. I was Foundation Director of the ARC Centre of excellence in Kangaroo genomics and led movements to fully sequence the genomes of Australian mammals (kangaroo and platypus), and now participate in major international genome sequencing projects.

Recent Publications

Jennifer has published a total of 370 full-length works, including co-editing four books (1990, 1993, 2005, 2010) and four journal issues (1998, 2009), 36 book chapters  and more than 360 refereed journal articles. Selected recent publications are:

Grützner, F., Rens, W., Tsend-Ayush, E., El-Mogharbel, N., O’Brien, P.C.M., E. Jones, R.C., Ferguson-Smith, M.A. and Graves, J.A.M. 2004. In the platypus a meiotic chain of ten sex chromosomes shares genes with the bird Z and mammal X chromosomes. Nature 432: 913-917.

Rens, W., Grützner, F., O’Brien, P.C.M., Fairclough, H., Graves, J.A.M. and Ferguson-Smith, M.A. 2004. Resolution and evolution of the duck-billed platypus karyotype with an X1Y1 X2Y2 X3Y3 X4Y4 X5Y5 male sex chromosome constitution. Proc. Natl Acad Sci US 101: 16257-16261

Grützner, F. and Graves, J.A.M. 2004. A platypus’ eye view of the mammalian genome. Current Opinions in Genetics and Development 14: 642-649 (cover story).

Kohn, M., Keher-Sawatzki, H., Vogel, W., Graves, J.A.M. and Hameister, H. 2004. Comparative mapping of human genes in chicken and fish provides insight into the origin of the human X chromosome, and the origin of microchromosomes. Trends in Genetics 20: 598-603.

Graves, J.A.M. 2005. Recycling the Y chromosome. Science 307: 50-51.

Ruvinsky, A. and Graves, J.A.M. (eds) 2005. Mammalian Genomics. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, U.K. (634 pages)

Graves, J.A.M. 2006. Sex chromosome dynamics and Y chromosome degeneration. Cell 124: 901-914.

Belov, K., Deakin, J.E. Papenfuss, A.T., Baker, M.L., Melman, S.D., Siddle, H.V., Gouin, N., Goode, D.L., Sargeant, T.J., Robinson, M.D., Wakefield, M.J., Mahony, S., Cross, J.G.R., Benos, P.V., Samollow, P.B. Speed, T.B., Graves, J.A.M. and Miller, R.D. 2006. Reconstruction of the ancestral mammalian immune supercomplex from a marsupial. PLOS Biology 4: e46.

Graves, J.A.M., Koina, E. and Sankovic, N. 2006. How the gene content of human sex chromosomes evolved. Current Opinions in Genetics and Development 16: 219-224.

Ezaz, T., Stiglec, R., Veyrunes, F. and Graves, J.A.M. 2006. Relationships between vertebrate ZW and XY sex chromosome systems. Current Biology 16: R736–743

Hore, T., Rapkins, R.E. and Graves, J.A.M. 2007. Evolutionary timing of genomic imprinting and X inactivation in mammals. Trends in Genetics 23: 440-448

Quinn, A.E., Georges, A., Sarre, S., Guarino, F., Ezaz, T. and Graves, J.A.M. 2007. Temperature sex reversal implies sex gene dosage in a reptile. Science 316: 411.

Mikkelsen TS, Wakefield MJ, (200 authors), Graves JAM, Ponting CP, Breen M, Samollow PB, Lander ES, Lindblad-Toh K. 2007. Genome of the marsupial Monodelphis domestica reveals innovation in non-coding sequences. Nature 447: 167-177 (cover story).

Warren WC, Hillier LW,, Graves, J.A.M et al (+97 authors). 2008. Genome analysis of the platypus reveals unique signatures of evolution. Nature 453:175-183 (cover story).

Veyrunes, F., Waters, P.D., Rens, W., Miethke, P., McMillan, D., Alsop, A.E., Grützner, F., Deakin, J.E., Whittington, C., Ferguson-Smith, M.A., Kremitzki, C.L. and Graves, J.A.M. 2008. Bird-like sex chromosomes of platypus imply recent origin of mammal sex chromosomes. Genome Research 18: 965-973

Graves, J.A.M. 2008. Weird animal genomes and the evolution of sex and sex chromosomes. Annual Review of Genetics 42: 565-586

Delbridge, M.L., Patel, H*., Waters, P.D., McMillan, D.A. and Graves, J.A.M. 2009. Does the human X contain a third evolutionary block? Origin of genes on human Xp11 and Xq28. Genome Research 19: 1359-1360

Murchison, E.P., Tovar, C., Hsu, A., Bender, H.S., Kheradpour, P., Rebbeck, C.A., Obendorf, D., Conlan, C., Bahlo, M., Blizzard, C.A., Pyecroft, S., Kreiss, A., Kellis, M., Stark, A., Harkins, T.T., Graves, J.A.M., Woods, G.M., Hanson, G.J. and Papenfuss, A.T. 2010. The Tasmanian Devil transcriptome reveals Schwann cell origins of a clonally transmissible cancer. Science 327: 84-87

Graves, J.A.M. and Peichel, C.L. 2010. Are homologies in vertebrate sex determination due to shared ancestry or limited options? Genome Biology 11: 205.

Deakin, J.E., Waters, P.D. and Graves, J.A.M. eds (2010). Marsupial Genetics and Genomics, 400 p., ISBN 978-90-481-9022-5, Springer Verlag, Berlin.