Many inherited diseases could become better understood through genetic research being conducted at NIU, said biologist Paul Meechan.

Meechan, an assistant professor of biological sciences, is working under a $114,158 grant from the Council for Tobacco Research for his project entitled “Isolating and Injection of Chromosomes Complementing XP Mutations.”

The XP (Xerdoderma Pigmentosum) mutation only occurs once in every 250,000 births, Meechan said.

“It’s a good model for genetic diseases,” he said. “People afflicted with it can’t handle sunlight on DNA (chromosomal material in living cells). The light causes damage and the victims die early in life,” he said.

Unlike albinism, in which victims lack color in the skin, XP mutations can occur in individuals of any skin color, he said.

Meechan intends to identify the gene involved in transmitting the disease. He must determine which of three chromosomes carry the gene and inject new chromosomes into the cells.

“We want to know whether or not the new chromosome that we put in allows the cells to repair damage that normal XP cells cannot repair,” Meechan added. “The (injected) chromosome has on it the information that gives instructions to cells to create a protein to fix the damage. It gives it a ‘good code.'”

A new procedure in genetic research allows injection of fluorescent dyes that bind to chromosomes. The chromosomes then go through a flow cytometer, a machine equipped with lasers that can excite the dyes and cause them to give off light.

Meechan is collaborating with Charles Goolsby of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. for use of its flow cytometer, a $350,000 machine.