Dr. Monica Riley,
Senior Scientist
Monica Riley's CV >>

The Riley laboratory research is in the area of molecular evolution and genetics and includes examination of patterns and processes of sequence evolution. We use methods from molecular biology, population genetics, systematics, statistics, and computer science. The basis for much of the research is comparative; it includes several levels of biological organization, and involves both computer-based and empirical studies.

In one project, the early evolutionary processes that generated the diversity of proteins we see today are being studied by analyzing sequence relationships among E. coli paralogous proteins. Proteins initially arose by gene duplication followed by divergence in early times of molecular evolution. Some of their common origins can still be detected today in sequence relationships. Data is available at the GenProtEC web server.

Sequence analysis of proteins advances our understanding of molecular evolution and assists in assigning function to unknown genes. In a collaborative effort, with a computer scientist, a knowledge base containing information of the molecular biology of E. coli has been developed. The resource contains information on each metabolic reaction and pathway, enzymes and their structure, reactants, products, cofactors, activators, and inhibitors, and is tied to the corresponding genetic information. The program displays metabolic pathways and is available at http://ecocyc.panbio.com/.

A related database MetaCyc is being developed with information on the biochemistry and genomics of many organisms.