microRNA gene networks regulating responses to environment

描述(由申请人提供)： 摘要这项工作的主要目标是利用线虫模型系统来了解microRNAs如何调节生物对动物饮食的营养和致病特性的反应的遗传和分子机制，并帮助赋予发育和生理对环境变化的稳健性。线虫中有150多个不同的microRNA基因，其中包括20多个与人类同源的microRNA家族。虽然很明显，microRNAs在所有动物的发育和生理过程中都发挥着重要的作用，但这些microRNAs的功能还没有被很好地理解。也不清楚microRNA基因的表达是如何由发育和生理信号在转录或转录后调节的。将利用分子和遗传方法对线虫的microRNA基因调控网络进行全面的全基因组分析，重点是识别介导对动物细菌饮食的营养和致病质量的反应的microRNA。深入的功能分析将对一组特定的进化保守的microRNAs进行，这些microRNAs已知在变化的死亡条件下作用于赋予发育和生理健壮性的途径。。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Abstract The broad goal of this work is to use the C. elegans model system to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying how microRNAs mediate organismal responses to the nutitional and pathogenic properties of an animal's diet, and help confer developmental and physiological robustness against environmental change. There are more than 150 distinct microRNA genes in C. elegans, including more than 20 families of microRNAs with homologs in humans. Although it is clear that microRNAs play important roles in a wide spectrum of developmental and phsyiological processes in all animals, the functions of these microRNAs are not well understood in detail. Nor is it well understood how microRNA gene expression is regulated transcriptionally or post-transcriptionally by developmental and physiological signals. Molecular and genetic approaches will be employed to produce a comprehensive, genome-wide analysis of microRNA gene regulatory networks in C.elegans, with an emphasis on identifying microRNAs that mediate responses to the nutritional and pathogenic qualities of the animals' bacterial diet diet. In depth functional analysis will be conducted for a set of specific evolutionarily conserved microRNAs that are known to act in pathways that confer developmental and physiological robustness in the context of changing dietery conditions. .