The characterization of tiny RNAs in animal epigenetics

Abstract:: One of the greatest modern mysteries is how the complexity of higher animals is encoded by a suite of protein-coding genes that has been essentially static for 600 million years of evolution. Here we build on the hypothesis that animal complexity hinges on an RNA regulatory network, and propose investigation of two classes of animal-specific tiny RNAs (tiRNAs and spliRNAs) that may form part of a previously unknown epigenetic system. Specifically, we will completely characterize the epigenetic signatures associated with tiRNAs and spliRNAs, and build on results indicating that tiRNAs can modulate the binding of chromatin modifying proteins. This project has the capacity to revolutionize our understanding of animal epigenetics.
Grant type:: ARC Discovery Projects
Funded by:: Australian Research Council

The University of Queensland