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Frontiers in Biomedical Science

2008


April 10, 2008
4:00 pm
A103 Chemistry

[more information]

The Birth and Travels of RNA

Dr. Robert H. Singer, Ph.D.
Professor & Co-Chair, Anatomy & Structural Biology
Professor of Cell Biology, Professor of Neuroscience
Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York

Studying the Birth and Travels of RNA
Work in the Singer laboratory is focused on the expression and travels of RNA within cells - from sites of birth to ultimate biological destiny in the cytoplasm where RNA is translated to make proteins in specific locations. Their new technology, based on in situ hybridization, allows them to visualize specific nucleic acid sequences within individual cells using high-resolution digital imaging microscopy. The clinical application of this technology allows, inter alia, for the molecular diagnosis of cancer cells. As an additional result of this approach, they have found specific RNA sequences located in particular cellular compartments. As such, transcripts are not freely diffusing but rather appear to be spatially associated with a cellular matrix or skeleton from the moment of their synthesis through translation. They are investigating how this spatial information is encoded within the gene and how the RNA transcript is processed within the nucleus and then transported to its correct compartment in the cytoplasm. They have constructed genetically altered cells to elucidate the sequences responsible for mRNA localization. A reporter gene can be "delivered" to a variety of cellular compartments by using specific sequences, or "zipcodes" from the mRNAs found in those compartments. These "zipcodes" consist of short sequences in the 3' untranslated region of the mRNA. So far, Singer's group has isolated and cloned several proteins that bind to "zipcodes" and decode their information. Recently, they also developed a technology that allows them to visualize fast RNA movements in living cells to characterize how cellular motors connect with and drive the RNA.

http://singerlab.aecom.yu.edu/people/rhs.htm