Objective
RNA interference (RNAi) is a highly conserved, sequence-specific gene regulatory mechanism among eukaryotes. It is critical for a variety of important biological functions and is being pursued as a promising new tool for the treatment of a variety of human maladies. A surprising link between heterochromatin and the RNAi pathway was discovered a few years ago in fission yeast and plants, and similar mechanisms have more recently been described in various eukaryotes. However, to what extent the mechanisms we have been studying in yeast are conserved up to humans remains unknown. The goal of this proposal is to further our understanding of RNAi-mediated heterochromatin assembly by using fission yeast as a model organism, but also to investigate to role of RNAi in the nucleus of human cells.
My proposal consists of three major aims. In aim 1 I propose to combine light and electron microscopy to address important and largely unanswered questions such as subcellular localization and temporal regulation of the RNAi pathway. Aim 2 builds on our recent discovery that RNAi factors physically associate with chromatin to control genome activity also outside constitutive heterochromatin. I am proposing experiments in fission yeast that aim at understanding the biological role of this new mode of genome regulation and its mechanistic dissection . However, we will also extend our analysis to human cells which will shed new light on the role of the RNAi pathway in the nucleus of higher eukaryotes. Finally, we are aiming at identifying the features a target locus in the S. pombe genome must have to become susceptible to RNAi-mediated silencing at the level of chromatin. Thus, the outcome of these experiments may substantially influence the developments of siRNA-based therapeutics.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy electron microscopy
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- 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.
ERC-2011-StG_20101109
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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.
Host institution
4056 BASEL
Switzerland
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.