NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology

本行动资助国家科学基金2008年度博士后研究奖学金。该奖学金支持莫利·s·麦格（Molly S. Megraw）的一项名为“发现植物中小RNA调控回路的作用”的研究和培训计划。这项研究的主办机构是杜克大学，赞助科学家是Uwe Ohler博士。基因组中不编码蛋白质的部分并非简单的“垃圾DNA”，而这些部分编码的是RNA小分子的生产规则，这些小分子在从细菌到人类的生物体中起着至关重要的作用。MicroRNAs（或miRNAs）是rna的一个亚组，它有助于减少或阻止编码基因产生蛋白质。正因为如此，它们在与发展和疾病有关的科学研究中发挥着重要作用。先前对细菌的研究表明，靶向蛋白质编码基因的rna可以赋予遗传系统一套全新的特征。这项研究正在识别和研究在特定活植物组织中起作用的遗传回路的特性，并将使用拟南芥作为模型系统，因为它提供了细菌和动物系统之间的中间复杂水平。训练目标包括广泛研究概率图形模型和基本实验技术，通过湿实验室沉浸体验。这项工作的更广泛的影响是通过理解mirna在细胞中起作用的电路类型，对小rna作为更大遗传系统组成部分的系统作用有了新的认识。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2008. The fellowship supports a research and training plan entitled "Discovering the role of small RNA regulatory circuits in plants" for Molly S. Megraw. The host institution for this research is Duke University, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Uwe Ohler. There are portions of a genome which don't code for protein are not simply "junk DNA", and these portions encode the production rules for tiny molecules of RNA which perform life-critical functions in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. MicroRNAs (or miRNAs) are a subgroup of RNAs which help reduce or stop proteins from being made by coding genes. Because of this, they serve an important role in scientific research relating to development and diseases. Previous research in bacteria revealed that RNAs which target protein coding genes can give the genetic system a whole new set of characteristics. This research is identifying and studying the properties of genetic circuits which function in specific living plant tissues and will be using the plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system as it provides an intermediate level of complexity between bacterial and animal systems. The training objectives include extensive study of probabilistic graphical models and basic experimental techniques through a wet-lab immersion experience. The broader impact of this work is new insight into the systemic roles of small RNAs as components of a larger genetic system by understanding the types of circuits in which miRNAs function in the cell.