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Assembly of the mRNA 3'-end processing machinery


EMSL Project ID
39720

Abstract

We propose to use NMR to study the structural basis for the assembly of the protein complex responsible for the formation of mature 3'-ends of mRNAs by cleavage and polyadenylation, and the coupling of these reactions with transcription termination. Dissecting how transcription, 3'-end RNA processing and mRNA export are coupled at the molecular and structural level, as we propose to do, is an essential step to understanding gene expression. The cleavage and polyadenylation apparatus is a complex macromolecular assembly, consisting of more than 50 proteins. In the first phase of the project, we propose to study individual protein-protein and protein-RNA complexes to understand the structural basis for the definition of the processing site and for the initiation of transcription termination. In the later stages, we will study how individual proteins become integrated into multiprotein assemblies by using advanced NMR methods (e.g. TROSY) to study protein components of this macromolecular machine.

Project Details

Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2010-10-01
End Date
2011-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Gabriele Varani
Institution
University of Washington

Team Members

Matthew Shortridge
Institution
University of Washington

Michael Bardaro
Institution
University of Washington