Department of Molecular Biology Seminar Series: Alternative RNA processing in neuronal function
Department of Molecular Biology Seminar Series
- Datum: 05.03.2020
- Uhrzeit: 13:00 - 14:00
- Vortragende(r): Valérie Hilgers
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg
- Ort: Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie (MPIBPC)
- Raum: Tower IV, Seminar Room, 2nd Floor
- Gastgeber: Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer
- Kontakt: office.cramer@mpibpc.mpg.de
The production of alternative RNA variants contributes to the tissue-specific regulation of gene expression. In the nervous system, a systematic shift towards more distal 3’ processing sites generates hundreds of messenger RNAs with substantially extended 3’ ends. These complex patterns of alternative RNA processing have been reported across metazoans and are crucial for proper nervous system development and function. In our lab, we use the model system Drosophila to study the mechanism of synthesis, the regulation, and the function of neuron-specific mRNA isoforms.
We discovered that the distinct mRNA 3’end signature of neurons is entirely dependent on the activity of two highly conserved RNA-binding proteins, ELAV and FNE, and describe a novel mode of functional rescue to safeguard the neuronal transcriptome.
Neuron-specific mRNA isoforms typically harbour an extended 3’untranslated region (3’UTR), which confers a unique potential for posttranscriptional regulation. We study the involvement of these transcript regions in the targeted localization of mRNAs, as well as their role in synaptic function in vivo.
We discovered that the distinct mRNA 3’end signature of neurons is entirely dependent on the activity of two highly conserved RNA-binding proteins, ELAV and FNE, and describe a novel mode of functional rescue to safeguard the neuronal transcriptome.
Neuron-specific mRNA isoforms typically harbour an extended 3’untranslated region (3’UTR), which confers a unique potential for posttranscriptional regulation. We study the involvement of these transcript regions in the targeted localization of mRNAs, as well as their role in synaptic function in vivo.