Dynamics, Plasticity and Evolvability of bacterial small regulatory RNAs

细菌小调控RNA的动力学、可塑性和进化性

• 批准号: 1121057
• 负责人: Erel Levine
• 金额: $ 71.73万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1121057&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dynamics; Plasticity; Evolvability; bacterial; small

Small RNAs, the recent addition to the repertoire of genetic regulators, play central roles in key biological processes in bacteria, plants and animals. Quantitative understanding of the regulatory properties of small RNAs, how molecular and cellular processes influence them, and how they can adapt and evolve, is key to understanding the design principles and evolution of regulatory networks. In this project the PI will study how properties of small regulatory RNA and their target mRNAs affect the efficiency, noise features, and evolvability of RNA regulation. Such properties include molecular features of sequence and structure, and functional properties such as translation rate and stability. Quantitative experiments and theoretical studies will be employed synergistically to bridge multiple scales, from the molecular level to cellular functionality and evolutionary dynamics. The results of this study are expected to shed new light on the role played by small RNAs in various pathways and to provide tools that map sequence data into properties of small RNA - target interaction and its evolution. Broader Impact. This project bridges between molecular biophysics and quantitative biology, and exemplifies a true inter-disciplinary approach. It is expected to be of interest to young researchers from a wide range of disciplines, and the PI will provide an opportunity for students to experience this type of research by establishing a discussion group that would follow the project. The PI is developing a new course intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, which will discuss a spectrum of biological systems from a quantitative perspective, and develop the theoretical and practical aspects of modeling complex biological systems. Small RNA regulation will serve as a central theme in this course.

小分子RNA是近年来加入到遗传调节基因库中的新成员，在细菌、植物和动物的关键生物学过程中发挥着重要作用。定量了解小RNA的调控特性，分子和细胞过程如何影响它们，以及它们如何适应和进化，是理解调控网络设计原理和进化的关键。在这个项目中，PI将研究小调控RNA及其靶mRNA的性质如何影响RNA调控的效率，噪声特征和进化性。这些性质包括序列和结构的分子特征，以及翻译速率和稳定性等功能性质。定量实验和理论研究将协同使用，以桥接多个尺度，从分子水平到细胞功能和进化动力学。这项研究的结果有望揭示小RNA在各种途径中所起的作用，并提供将序列数据映射到小RNA -靶相互作用及其演变特性的工具。更广泛的影响。该项目在分子生物物理学和定量生物学之间架起了桥梁，并证明了一种真正的跨学科方法。它预计将是感兴趣的年轻研究人员从广泛的学科，PI将提供一个机会，让学生通过建立一个讨论小组，将遵循该项目体验这种类型的研究。PI正在为高级本科生和研究生开发一门新课程，该课程将从定量的角度讨论生物系统的光谱，并开发复杂生物系统建模的理论和实践方面。小RNA调控将作为本课程的中心主题。