Gene expression regulation by RNA-binding proteins during fly development

Our group is interested in understanding the cellular and developmental roles of the Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein (PTB).

PTB belongs to the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein family (hnRNP) of proteins, which associate with transcripts as they are synthesized and control multiple aspects of RNA processing, both in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Despite their key roles as master regulators of gene expression, it is still not clear how hnRNP proteins discriminate among multiple RNA targets and most importantly, the mechanisms they use to regulate specific RNA targets. In order to understand the mechanisms of action of PTB, we have performed a yeast two-hybrid screen and found a number of potential new PTB-interacting partners.

These can be broadly divided into two functional groups:

RNA-binding proteins, which supports the hypothesis that: i) the final fate of a give mRNA is defined by the composition of its ribonuclear-protein complex (RNP); and ii) mRNAs encoding functionally related proteins are co-ordinately regulated as post-transcriptional RNA operons (or regulons) through an RNP-driven mechanism.
Chromatin associated proteins, this finding is particularly exciting as it suggests new roles for PTB as a regulator of chromatin structure and nuclear transcription.

This project will employ complementary in vivo and in vitro approaches to functionally characterize nuclear and cytoplasmic PTB-containing complexes.


For more information on this project, please see the following link: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/project/gene-expression-regulation-by-rna-binding-proteins-during-fly-development