The role of RNA modifications in the regulation of animal gene expression and germline development

几十年来，人们已经知道非编码和信使RNA的表观遗传修饰，虽然一些现在在功能上已经被很好地定义和理解，但一些高度保守的修饰的意义仍然不清楚。我们正在利用线虫作为模型系统的多种优势来研究参与RNA甲基化修饰的蛋白质，这些蛋白质在组织发育中具有重要作用。这些蛋白质在人类和其他哺乳动物的胚胎发育过程中具有重要但未知的作用，因此该项目的研究结果将直接影响我们对人类基因表达和发育的理解。该项目将使用广泛的实验工具将特定的RNA甲基化事件与它们在发育过程中细胞分化的基因表达变化中的作用联系起来。使用的技术将包括CRISPR介导的基因组工程、广域和共聚焦显微镜、长读转录组分析和液相色谱-串联质谱仪蛋白质组学。你将加入一个对RNA生物化学、基因表达和模式生物生物学长期感兴趣的多学科研究团队(www.ababdeenwormlab.org)。

Epigenetic modifications of non-coding and messenger RNAs have been known for decades, and while some are now functionally well-defined and understood, the significance of several highly conserved modifications remain obscure. We are exploiting the manifold advantages of C. elegans as model system to investigate proteins involved in RNA methylation modifications that have essential roles in tissue development. These proteins have important but unknown roles during embryonic development in humans and other mammals, so the outcome of the research from this project will have direct impacts upon our understanding of human gene expression and development.The project will use a wide range of experimental tools to relate specific RNA methylation events to their roles in the gene expression changes underlying cell differentiation during development. The techniques used will include CRISPR-mediated-genome engineering, wide-field and confocal microscopy, long-read transcriptome analysis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry proteomics. You will be joining a multidisciplinary research team (www.aberdeenwormlab.org) with a long-standing interest in RNA biochemistry, gene expression and model organism biology.