Understanding Complex Genome Editing and RNA Biology in Oxytricha

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Project Summary The PI’s lab studies natural genome editing systems in microbial eukaryotes, bringing a strongly molecular and mechanistic approach to understanding genome evolution and diversity. The surprisingly sophisticated variations on DNA and RNA processing in microbial eukaryotes display a wide range of genome architectures and genetic systems. Some pathways erode the notions of a gene (e.g. scrambled genes and RNA editing) and even Mendelian inheritance, reminding us that a draft genome sequence can be a far cry from knowledge of its products. Genome rearrangements occur in diverse organisms, and contribute to many human diseases, especially cancer—a disease of the genome, but the extreme level of programmed DNA rearrangements required for development in the ciliate Oxytricha make it an ideal model system to study genome remodeling and the roles of RNA in orchestrating this process. The proposed research will expand the lab’s focus on the molecular mechanisms and evolution of this remarkable natural phenomenon. Goals for the next five years include understanding the roles of DNA N6-adenine methylation (6mA) during development and rearrangement, and the interactions between small and long noncoding RNAs and their associated RNA- binding proteins, together with the rearranging genome. Tools from molecular genetics, biochemistry, and chromatin biology provide the platform for functional studies, while comparative genomics offers insight into the evolutionary origins of scrambled genomes and complex genetic architectures, addressing the fundamental questions of how programmed rearrangements are executed during development and how this process arose during evolution.