Understanding how RNA is tethered to chromatin

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This project addresses where RNA is localised in the cell. Location is very important as any estate agent will tell you. The mammalian cell produces a wide range of RNA molecules with diverse functions. Some well known RNAs, such as messenger RNA, are produced in the nucleus and then exported to the cytoplasm where they encode for proteins. Many other types of RNA largely reside in the nucleus and some of them are tethered to the DNA where they regulate the production of RNA and play a role in the overall structural organisation of the nucleus. We have discovered that the HNRNPU protein plays a widespread role in tethering RNAs to DNA in the nucleus and additionally is probably involved in tethering different RNAs to each other. In this project we will characterise the nuclear RNA:DNA and RNA:RNA tethering mechanisms controlled by HNRNPU and determine the impact these processes have on mammalian gene expression.