“For the first time, we understand the language of a code that is essential to gene processing,” said Morris, a professor in U of Toronto’s Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research and the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research. “Many human diseases are due to defects in this code, so figuring out what it means is crucial to creating new treatments for many conditions.” The researchers translated the code with a biochemical technique developed by a research scientist in Hughes’ lab, Debashish Ray, and a student in Morris’s lab, Hilal Kazan. The team defined the meaning of “words” in RNA, allowing identification of patterns in RNA molecules that proteins use to control RNA processing and movement, which are often altered in disease. “This was a surprising finding, because we knew RBFOX1 controls gene expression, but had no idea it also stabilizes RNA,” said Hughes, a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and the Donnelly Centre. “It’s a good example of the predictive power of the RNA control code, which we think will really open up the field of gene regulation.” Hughes said the work also shows that the RNA control code may be easier to interpret than a similar control code in DNA. Researchers have been struggling for years to understand this DNA control code, but the new results suggest RNA control could offer a more fruitful area of inquiry, with autism as just one example.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:42:17 +0000
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