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Mechanisms of Circadian Clock and Gene Sliencing in Neurospora

脉孢菌生物钟和基因沉默的机制

基本信息

批准号：
9903384
负责人：
YI LIU
金额：
$ 60.75万
依托单位：
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2016-04-04 至 2021-03-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9903384
关键词：
Address Animals Award Behavioral Biochemical Biogenesis Biological Clocks Biological Models Biological Phenomena Biological Process Cell physiology Chromatin Structure Circadian Rhythms DNA Damage Development Feedback Future Gene Expression Gene Silencing Genes Genetic Genetic Transcription Goals Grant Human Instruction Knowledge Lead Mental Health Mental disorders Messenger RNA MicroRNAs Molds Molecular Molecular Conformation Neurospora Neurospora crassa Nucleotides Organism Output Pathway interactions Pharmacologic Substance Phosphorylation Physiological Physiological Processes Physiology Process Production Protein Family RNA Interference RNA Interference Pathway Research Research Personnel Sleep Disorders Small Interfering RNA Small RNA Structure System Technology Untranslated RNA Validation circadian circadian pacemaker design fungus gene function homologous recombination human disease insight novel therapeutic intervention public health relevance temporal measurement therapeutic development tool

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Maximizing Investigators' Research Award will be focused on the understanding of mechanisms of how fundamental biological phenomena: circadian clock and RNA interference. Circadian clocks control a wide variety of fundamental cellular, physiological, and behavioral processes in eukaryotic organisms. The molecular machinery that permits the measurement of time is referred to as the "circadian clock" and its output as circadian rhythms. Our long-term goal is to understand the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of eukaryotic circadian clocks. RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-transcriptional/transcriptional gene silencing mechanism conserved from fungi to humans. In RNAi pathways, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) with sizes ranging from 20-30 nucleotides (nt), including microRNAs (miRNAs) and various small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), associate with and guide Argonaute family proteins to messenger RNA targets, resulting in the silencing of gene expression in diverse biological processes. The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa offers a powerful experimentally-accessible system for both circadian clock and RNAi mechanisms. Our previous studies have made fundamental contributions to both circadian and RNAi fields. For our future circadian clock research, we propose to focus on three different key aspects of the circadian oscillator mechanism. In Specific Aim 1, we will determine how phosphorylation of FRQ regulates its activity and its structural conformation. This study will help establish a biochemical mechanism critical for the circadian negative feedback process in Neurospora. In Specific Aim 2, we will determine the mechanism for how CATP regulates frq transcription by regulating the chromatin structure. In Specific Aim 3, we will determine the mechanism for how antisense transcription of qrf transcription regulates frq expression by transcriptional interference. Together, these objectives take advantage of a well-established model system to address three fundamental questions that are critical for our understanding of eukaryotic circadian clocks and will elucidate the genetic, biochemical, and molecular mechanism of the Neurospora clock. Because of the conservation between the Neurospora and animal clocks, our results will provide important insights into eukaryotic clock mechanisms. For our future RNAi and small RNA research, we will focus on the mechanisms of quelling, milRNA and dicer-independent small RNA pathways. In Specific Aim 4, we determine the mechanism of how DNA damage induces of qiRNA production and how qiRNAs promote homologous recombination. In Specific Aim 5, we will determine the milRNA production pathways and decipher the design principles of milRNAs. In Specific Aim 6, we will determine the biogenesis pathway and function of disiRNAs. Together, these studies address several fundamental questions in small RNA biogenesis and will significantly expand our current knowledge of sRNA biogenesis pathways and sRNA function.