Role of activating Protein 1 in skeletal myogenesis

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In the proposed work we are attempting to understand the events underlying the development of cells that give rise to skeletal muscle in mammals. The commitment of cells to become specialized as muscle cells requires a particular set of genes to be expressed which are required for these cells to be able to have specialized functions such as being able to contract (allowing movement), to respond to nerve impulses from the nervous system (voluntary control of movement) and to function as a depot for the storage of glucose (metabolic control). In order to regulate the expression of these "muscle-specific" genes there are proteins in the nucleus called transcription factors which determine which genes are expressed (transcribed). These proteins function by directly binding to control regions in DNA. In our studies we are particularly interested in a protein called Fra2 which functions in this capacity as a regulator of transcription. Our studies to date indicate that Fra2 may be an important part of a network of transcription factors controlling the formation of skeletal muscle. Our studies are thus aimed at understanding how Fra2 regulates transcription in association with other factors, and also which genes Fra2 specifically targets in the genome. We will therefore use state of the art approaches in genome analysis to elucidate the function of the Fra2 protein in muscle cells.