Characterization of regulatory RNA folds in human cells

• Applicant: Dr. Falk Butter
• Subject Area: Biochemistry
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 451873964

Most RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) recognize specific motifs or structures within RNA to organize cellular localization or regulate transcript expression of RNA. Based on our previous RNA fold – protein interaction screen in yeast, we here want to extend the study to regulatory RNA folds in human. We are interested to identify RBPs that bind to a selected set of evolutionary conserved RNA structures (CRS) in the 3’-UTRs that regulate gene expression of proteins. We will combine a massive parallel reporter screen to select functional RNA elements among the conserved structures with streamlined RNA-protein interactomics to identify the respective RBPs that mediate functionality. With integration of other large scale data by bioinformatics and further in-depth studies, we aim to identify new regulatory RNA-binding proteins and characterize their importance for translational gene regulation on a systems-wide level.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants