Prof Raymond O'Keefe
Applications accepted all year round
Self-Funded PhD Students Only
About the Project
New sequencing technologies have revealed that in many organisms, including humans, the majority of the genome is transcribed into RNAs. We are only now finding out how some of these RNAs function in the cell. However, many of these RNAs have no known function to date. This project will use the model eukaryote, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to investigate the function of non-coding RNAs. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a key model organism for investigating biological processes. The Yeast Deletion Collection (YDC) for protein-coding genes has provided a valuable resource for researchers. While it is important to determine the role protein-coding genes play in biological processes, RNA is increasingly playing a central role in many biological processes. Unfortunately, non-coding RNA genes are absent from the YDC. We have recently developed deletion strains for non-coding RNA genes to provide a comprehensive gene deletion collection for genome-scale analysis and systematic analysis of RNA function. The RNA deletion strains will be used for RNA functional analysis and to probe the contribution of RNA to growth of yeast in continuous culture with a variety of conditions and treatments. Selected essential RNA genes will also investigated in a divergent yeast strain to determine whether phenotype is influenced by genetic background. Overall this research should determine the function of the many non-coding RNAs that are transcribed from eukaryotic genomes.
Funding Notes
This project has a Band 2 fee. Details of our different fee bands can be found on our website. For information on how to apply for this project, please visit the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Doctoral Academy website. Informal enquiries may be made directly to the primary supervisor.