RUI: Analysis of the role of histone H3 in transcription elongation

脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)在确保细胞正常功能方面起着核心作用。DNA的区域被称为基因，它们编码指导重要细胞过程的指令。为了适应细胞的小范围，DNA与许多蛋白质结合，形成一种紧凑的结构，称为染色质。染色质的主要蛋白质成分是组蛋白，它直接参与DNA的缩合。杜伊纳博士的研究重点是阐明允许基因将其包含的信息转化为特定生物事件的基本分子机制，这一过程被广泛称为基因表达。杜伊纳博士项目的主要目标是对组蛋白和另一类蛋白质的成员之间的相互作用获得新的见解。这些蛋白质通常被称为转录延伸因子，它们在基因的正确表达中发挥着关键作用。在这些研究中，杜伊纳博士将使用萌芽酵母酿酒酵母作为模式生物，它提供了一个非常适合他的研究小组将采用的遗传和生化方法的实验系统。该项目将为本科生提供一个积极从事前沿科学研究的绝佳机会。在杜伊纳博士的指导下，在他的实验室工作的本科生将进行实验，这些实验将导致与基因表达相关的新发现。除了亲身学习科学探究的过程是如何在研究实验室中发生的，从设计实验到解释结果，这些学生还将体验到学习一些以前未知的关于生命如何运作的东西的兴奋。将他们在课堂上获得的知识与实践中令人兴奋的科学研究相结合的能力将为本科生提供宝贵的经验，这将有助于塑造他们的科学生涯。由于本项目将研究的因子和过程在酵母和人类细胞之间高度保守，学生们获得的结果将大大有助于我们目前对基本生物过程的理解，该过程也对人类生物学具有重大影响。

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) plays a central role in ensuring the proper function of cells. Regions of DNA, called genes, encode instructions that direct important cellular processes. In order to fit inside the small confines of a cell, DNA associates with a number of proteins to form a compacted structure known as chromatin. The major protein components of chromatin are the histones, which directly participate in the condensation of DNA. Dr. Duina's research focuses on elucidating the basic molecular mechanisms that allow genes to convert the information they contain into specific biological events, a process broadly referred to as gene expression. The main goal of Dr. Duina's project is to obtain new insights into the interactions that occur between histones and members of another class of proteins, generally referred to as transcription elongation factors, which play critical roles in the proper expression of genes. For these studies, Dr. Duina will use as a model organism the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which provides an experimental system extremely well suited to the genetic and biochemical approaches that his research group will employ. This project will provide an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to be actively engaged in cutting-edge scientific research. Under Dr. Duina's guidance, undergraduate students working in his laboratory will carry out experiments that will lead to new discoveries related to gene expression. In addition to learning first-hand how the process of scientific inquiry takes place in a research laboratory, from designing experiments to the interpretation of the results, these students will also experience the elation of learning something previously unknown about how life works. The ability to integrate the knowledge they have acquired in the classroom with hands-on, exciting scientific research will provide an invaluable experience for undergraduate students that will be instrumental in shaping their scientific career. Because the factors and processes that will be studied in this project are highly conserved between yeast and human cells, the results obtained by the students will significantly contribute to our current understanding of a basic biological process that also has major implications to human biology.