About Blake Meyers & the Lab
The Meyers Lab pioneered the application of the prior generation of high-throughput, short read technologies (MPSS) for mRNA and small RNA analyses. We led the way to the shift to Illumina’s SBS sequencing, co-developing the widely-used application of small RNA sequencing. We have also developed a number of other applications of this technology, plus the informatics to handle those data.
We are actively applying these methods to a variety of questions about small RNA biology and gene expression, particularly in crop plants, but also several models.
Research in the Lab
Our current research includes programs that emphasize bioinformatics and plant functional genomics. These programs include:
- Analyses of small RNA, DNA methylation, and the genomes of rice, Arabidopsis and other species using short-read DNA sequencing technologies.
- Development and implementation of novel informatics approaches for the storage, analysis, display, and public release of these data.
- Functional and evolutionary analyses of several gene families of interest, particularly miRNAs, phasiRNAs and the proteins involved in their biogenesis, as well as NB-LRR disease resistance genes.