NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology

这一行动为NSF 2008财年博士后研究奖学金提供了资金。该奖学金支持Molly S.Megraw的一项名为“发现植物中小RNA调节回路的作用”的研究和培训计划。这项研究的主办机构是杜克大学，赞助科学家是乌韦·奥勒博士。基因组中有一些不编码蛋白质的部分并不是简单的“垃圾DNA”，这些部分编码了微小RNA分子的产生规则，这些微小分子在从细菌到人类的各种生物体中发挥着至关重要的生命功能。MicroRNAs(或miRNAs)是RNAs的一个子群，它有助于减少或阻止编码基因合成蛋白质。正因为如此，它们在与发展和疾病有关的科学研究中发挥着重要作用。此前对细菌的研究表明，针对蛋白质编码基因的RNA可以赋予遗传系统一系列全新的特征。这项研究正在识别和研究在特定植物组织中发挥作用的遗传电路的特性，并将以植物拟南芥作为模型系统，因为它在细菌和动物系统之间提供了中等水平的复杂性。培训目标包括通过湿法实验室浸泡体验广泛学习概率图形模型和基本实验技术。这项工作的更广泛的影响是，通过了解miRNAs在细胞中发挥作用的电路类型，对小RNAs作为较大遗传系统的组成部分的系统作用有了新的见解。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2008. The fellowship supports a research and training plan entitled "Discovering the role of small RNA regulatory circuits in plants" for Molly S. Megraw. The host institution for this research is Duke University, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Uwe Ohler. There are portions of a genome which don't code for protein are not simply "junk DNA", and these portions encode the production rules for tiny molecules of RNA which perform life-critical functions in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. MicroRNAs (or miRNAs) are a subgroup of RNAs which help reduce or stop proteins from being made by coding genes. Because of this, they serve an important role in scientific research relating to development and diseases. Previous research in bacteria revealed that RNAs which target protein coding genes can give the genetic system a whole new set of characteristics. This research is identifying and studying the properties of genetic circuits which function in specific living plant tissues and will be using the plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system as it provides an intermediate level of complexity between bacterial and animal systems. The training objectives include extensive study of probabilistic graphical models and basic experimental techniques through a wet-lab immersion experience. The broader impact of this work is new insight into the systemic roles of small RNAs as components of a larger genetic system by understanding the types of circuits in which miRNAs function in the cell.