DISSERTATION RESEARCH: RNA-Seq analysis of nascent RNA to provide insights into the mechanisms behind genomic loss of introns.

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Genes provide the genetic code for proteins which are the building blocks of cells and organisms. Most eukaryotic genes contain one or more non-coding regions, called introns. Introns are typically removed (spliced out) during the cellular processes that decode genes to build proteins. Some intron positions in genes have been retained in species as diverse as plants and animals, possibly because they are functionally important. Other introns have been lost from genes independently in different evolutionary lineages, and it may be that the intron loss provided some selective advantage to the organism. It is important to understand the mechanisms that lead to intron loss in plants. The proposed research aims to investigate whether introns that are spliced out more efficiently during cellular processes have a higher chance of ultimately being lost from the genome. Large-scale sequencing of RNA, which essentially provides a blue print of all genes that are expressed, during different stages of cellular processing, will yield information for each gene on the relative rate with which the introns are spliced out. Statistical analyses will be carried out to determine whether splicing rates are correlated with patterns of genomic intron loss. Some introns, either by their content, their size or their location can regulate gene expression and hence are functionally important. Genomic loss of introns may lead to altered expression, which may provide the plasticity needed for species to adapt to new environments. Knowledge of the mechanisms that lead to intron loss will help to understand species evolution.