The role of RNA modifications in the regulation of animal gene expression and germline development

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Epigenetic modifications of non-coding and messenger RNAs have been known for decades, and while some are now functionally well-defined and understood, the significance of several highly conserved modifications remain obscure. We are exploiting the manifold advantages of C. elegans as model system to investigate proteins involved in RNA methylation modifications that have essential roles in tissue development. These proteins have important but unknown roles during embryonic development in humans and other mammals, so the outcome of the research from this project will have direct impacts upon our understanding of human gene expression and development.The project will use a wide range of experimental tools to relate specific RNA methylation events to their roles in the gene expression changes underlying cell differentiation during development. The techniques used will include CRISPR-mediated-genome engineering, wide-field and confocal microscopy, long-read transcriptome analysis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry proteomics. You will be joining a multidisciplinary research team (www.aberdeenwormlab.org) with a long-standing interest in RNA biochemistry, gene expression and model organism biology.