Gyan Farrell Caluag
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Rachel Niederer
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Biological Chemistry / Medicine
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 5 (2:40pm – 3:30pm)
Authors: Gyan Farrell Caluag, Angela Zhang, Rachel Niederer
Abstract
The question that is driving research in the Niederer lab is “What mRNA features are responsible for differences in protein output?†A previous study in the lab measured the ribosome recruitment – the first stage of protein synthesis – to thousands of RNA sequences to identify potential translational control elements. Using these data, we should be able to identify new gene regulatory features and design our own sequences for optimal protein output. For this project, we will clone short and long 5’-UTR isoforms from the yeast gene HBS1 into luciferase reporters through PCR amplification, restriction digest, Gibson assembly, and sequencing the resulting plasmids. Eventually, the luciferase reporters will be transformed into yeast. Mutations could be made in the unique region of the long isoform to highlight the sequences driving the differences in protein output. The luciferase reporters will be transformed into yeast and protein output would be measured. We expect that the mutations disrupting any regulatory features will show altered protein output. Furthermore, mutations in the the human homolog of HBS1 are associated with beta thalassemia. Therefore, we can inquire whether there are any mutations associated with conserved 5′-UTR regulatory features that may lead to the disease phenotype.
