Sarah Hainer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

Building a Network of ncRNA Regulation

Abstract

Genome-wide studies over the past decade have revealed that mammalian genomes are highly transcribed (during which DNA is converted into RNA), generating a large number of RNAs that are not translated to proteins known as non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). We recently found that a specific chromatin regulator, esBAF, is responsible for repressing the expression of many of these ncRNAs in embryonic stem (ES) cells by regulating chromatin structure at the location of transcription. We now propose to further examine the regulation of these ncRNAs. The proposed studies will be the first to comprehensively characterize a ncRNA regulatory network – in any cell type – by examining the complete array of nucleosome remodeling complexes, which will ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the mammalian transcriptome.

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