microRNA gene networks regulating responses to environment

描述（由申请人提供）： 本文的主要目标是利用C. elegans模型系统来了解microRNA如何介导生物体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鲁棒性以对抗环境变化。在C.包括20多个在人类中具有同源物的microRNA家族。尽管已经清楚microRNA在所有动物的广泛的发育和生理过程中发挥重要作用，但是这些microRNA的功能还没有被很好地了解。microRNA基因的表达是如何通过发育和生理信号在转录或转录后进行调节的，目前还没有很好的理解。分子和遗传学方法将用于对秀丽隐杆线虫中的microRNA基因调控网络进行全面的全基因组分析，重点是鉴定介导对动物细菌饮食的营养和致病质量反应的microRNA。将对一组特定的进化上保守的microRNA进行深入的功能分析，这些microRNA已知在变化的营养条件下赋予发育和生理稳健性的途径中起作用。.

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. .