Role of LINEs and their binding proteins in brain evolution

哺乳动物基因组中有很大一部分是由反转录转座子组成的。LINES是一类主要的逆转录转座子元件，目前对其功能知之甚少。Ule实验室之前的数据已经确定了一系列RNA结合蛋白，这些蛋白可能是LINE来源转录本的重要调节因子，但对它们几乎一无所知。该项目将重点研究LINE及其结合蛋白如何影响细胞决策，特别是大脑发育中的细胞命运决定。我们假设，物种间的线条差异导致了它们不同的物种形成。

A large proportion of mammalian genome is made up of retrotransposons. LINEs are a major class of retrotransposable elements and their functional roles are still poorly understood. Previous data from the Ule lab has identified a series of RNA binding proteins which are likely to be important regulators of LINE derived transcripts, but about which almost nothing is known. This project will focus on how LINEs and their binding proteins influence cellular decision making, particularly of cell fate decisions in brain development. We hypothesise that variation in LINEs between species has contributed to their divergent speciation.