RUI: The transcriptional response to quantitative variation in RpoS concentration in E. coli

这个项目对细菌如何在压力下打开和关闭他们的基因进行了定量的理解。这个项目将为本科生提供在微生物学、分子遗传学和基因组学方面进行研究的经验。此外，PI将为参加向上跳跃计划的高中生提供研究实习机会。这些学生来自理工科代表性较低的背景，实习将为这些学生提供一条通往理工科职业的道路。该项目研究了两个主要问题，即大肠杆菌基因组中基因的转录如何随着调节蛋白rpos的浓度而变化。首先，该项目将测试特定转录因子(TF)在改变基因对rpos水平的反应中所起的作用。这将通过RNA-SEQ研究缺乏某些转铁蛋白的菌株对rpos水平的反应来完成。这些全基因组研究将通过对特定启动子中的转铁蛋白结合位点的详细操作来补充。其次，这项研究将描述rpos和转录之间的剂量-反应关系，以及它对生理转变的影响。这项研究将通过使用阿拉伯糖诱导的RPOS系统改变RPOS水平，然后使用RNA-SEQ测量对转录的影响来完成。

This project develops a quantitative understanding of how bacteria turn their genes on and off in response to stresses. This project will provide undergraduate students with experience performing research in microbiology, molecular genetics, and genomics. In addition, the PI will provide research internships to high school students participating in an Upward Bound program. These students are from backgrounds underrepresented in science, and the internships will give these students a path towards careers in science. The project studies two major questions about how the transcription of genes in the E. coli genome varies in response to the concentration of the regulatory protein RpoS. First, the project will test the role of specific transcription factors (TFs) in altering how genes respond to RpoS levels. This will be done by RNA-seq studies of the response to RpoS levels in strains lacking certain TFs. These whole genome studies will be complemented by detailed manipulations of TF binding sites in specific promoters. Second, the research will characterize the dose-response relationship between RpoS and transcription, and its influence over a physiological transition. This research will be done by altering RpoS levels using an arabinose-inducible RpoS system, and then measuring the effect on transcription using RNA-seq.