Assistant Professor
	B.Sc. (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill) M.Sc. (Oregon State University) Ph.D. (University of South Carolina) Office: F-310 Lab: F-311   Mailing Address Dr. T. Merritt Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Laurentian University Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6   Tel: (705) 675-1151, ext 2189 Fax: (705) 675-4844   Internet: tmerritt@laurentian.ca Click here for personal webpage

The Control and Evolution of Metabolic Networks

            Determining the rules that govern the connection between genotype and phenotype is a fundamental challenge in this “post-genomic” era of modern genetics.  In many cases, genotype may give rise to phenotype through interactions among multiple genes and intermediates.  A phenotype is then a function of the alleles present at, and the relative contributions of, individual members of an interacting complex of genes to the control of the system as a whole.  By addressing control on a network-wide basis, one can elucidate interactions and interconnections that would not be apparent in individual gene-by-gene examinations. Metabolic pathways, with their intrinsic interactions among multiple enzymes and metabolites, are excellent systems for the study of the control of genetic networks. Research in my laboratory reaches across the fields of bioinformatics, biochemistry, and population and evolutionary genetics and uses an experimental approach to investigate the evolution and metabolic control of the enzymes that reduce nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) using wild and engineered lines of Drosophila melanogaster and other Drosophila species.  The NADP(H) enzyme network is an ideal system for study because it is large enough to include complex interactions, yet small enough to be experimentally manageable.  Focusing on Drosophila allows research in my lab to combine the powerful molecular tools available in D. melanogaster with the large amount of genomic data available from closely related species.

Selected Recent Publications:

	Professeur Adjoint
	B.Sc. (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill) M.Sc. (Oregon State University) Ph.D. (University of South Carolina) Bureau: F-310 Laboratoire: F-311   Addresse Dr. T. Merritt Département de chimie et biochimie  Université Laurentienne Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6   Tél: (705) 675-1151, ext 2189 Fax: (705) 675-4844   Internet: tmerritt@laurentian.ca Site web personel

Publications:

Thomas J.S. Merritt, Caitlin Kuczynski, Efe Sezgin, C.-T. Zhu, Seiji Kumagai and Walter F. Eanes. 2009
Quantifying Interactions Within the NADP(H) Enzyme Network in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics, 182: 565-574. (PDF)

Eanes, W.F., Merritt, T. J., Flowers, J. M., Kumagai S. and Zhu C.-T. 2009
Direct Evidence That Genetic Variation in Glycerol-3-Phosphate and Malate Dehydrogenase Genes (Gpdh and Mdh1) Affects Adult Ethanol Tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster.Genetics, 181(2): 607-14. PDF

Eanes, W. F., T. J. S. Merritt, J. M. Flowers, S. Kumagai, E. Sezgin, C.-T. Zhu.  2006
Flux Control and excess capacity in the enzymes of glycolysis and their relationship to flight metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 19413-19418.   PDF

 Merritt, T. J. S., E. Sezgin, C. T. Zhu, and W. F. Eanes. 2006
Triglyceride pools, flight, and genetic variation at the Gpdh locus in Drosophila melanogaster.  Genetics 172: 293-304. PDF

Merritt, T. J. S., D. D. Duvernell, and W. F. Eanes. 2005
Natural and synthetic alleles provide complementary insights into the nature of selection acting on the Men polymorphism of Drosophila melanogaster.  Genetics 171: 1707-1718. PDF

Merritt, T. J. S., C. R. Young, R. G. Vogt, R. C. Wilkerson, and J. M. Quattro. 2005.
Intron retention identifies a malarial vector within the Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) albitaris complex (Diptera: Culicidae).  Molecular Phylogeneitcs and Evolution 35(3): 719-724. PDF

Matzkin†, L. M., T .J. S. Merritt†, C. T. Zhu, and W. F. Eanes. 2005.
The structure and population genetics of the breakpoints associated with cosmopolitan inversion In(3R)Payne in Drosophila melanogaster.  Genetics 170: 1143-1152.  † This is a jointly first authored paper with Dr. Matzkin. PDF

Merritt, T. J. S. and J. M. Quattro. 2003.
Evolution of the vertebrate cytosolic malate dehydrogenase gene family: Duplication and divergence in actinopterygian fish. Journal of Molecular Evolution 56(3): 265-276. PDF

Merritt, T. J. S. and J. M. Quattro. 2002.
Negative charge correlates with neural expression in vertebrate aldolase isozymes. Journal of Molecular Evolution 55(6): 674-683. PDF

Merritt, T. J. S. and J. M. Quattro. 2001.
Evidence for a period of directional selection following gene duplication in a neurally-expressed locus of triosephosphate isomerase. Genetics 159(2): 689-697. PDF