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

该项目开发了一个定量的了解细菌如何打开和关闭他们的基因，以应对压力。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将提供研究实习，以高中学生参加向上绑定程序。这些学生的背景在科学领域代表性不足，实习将为这些学生提供一条通往科学职业的道路。该项目研究了两个主要问题，即基因在大肠杆菌中的转录是如何进行的。大肠杆菌基因组响应于调节蛋白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水平的反应中的作用。这将通过在缺乏某些TF的菌株中对RpoS水平的响应的RNA-seq研究来完成。这些全基因组研究将通过对特定启动子中TF结合位点的详细操作来补充。其次，该研究将表征RpoS和转录之间的剂量-反应关系，及其对生理转变的影响。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.