Objective
Pre-mRNA splicing is an essential function in virtually all eukaryotic organisms. In the human genome, 95% of the genes with multiple exons are subjected to alternative splicing, increasing the diversity of the transcriptome and ensuring the complexity of the organism. Because of its prevalence in many physiological functions splicing mis-regulation has been linked to a large number of diseases, including various cancers. In addition to providing diversity splicing presents an opportunity for genetic control at multiple layers of its regulation. One of these layers is the cis-regulatory elements present on the transcripts, and their associations with their cognate trans-acting factors. The coupling between transcription and splicing introduces additional regulatory levels. For instance, an unexpected connection between chromatin and splicing has recently been uncovered. However, despite its potential significance, we still know very little about how these two processes communicate with each other.
We have recently found an essential role for the exon junction complex (EJC) in the splicing of long introns in Drosophila. Remarkably, this function is biased towards transcripts encoded by genes located in heterochromatin, suggesting that heterochromatic transcripts containing long introns might be spliced by a novel mechanism in which the EJC plays a crucial role. We plan to decipher the mechanism by which the EJC regulates splicing of large heterochromatic transcripts and more generally how heterochromatin influences pre-mRNA splicing. This study will have a major impact on our understanding of the interplay between chromatin and splicing and should lead to alternative therapeutic strategies which will involve the modulation of chromatin to treat human diseases that are a consequence of aberrant splicing. Furthermore, this project should contribute to the understanding of the long-standing paradox of how gene expression can occur from a heterochromatic environment.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)
Coordinator
55128 Mainz
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.