Project Details
Projekt
FOR 531: Chromatin Mediated Biological Decisions
Subject Area
Biology
Term
from 2004 to 2010
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5470729
Genetic material (DNA) of higher organisms is densely packed into a structure called chromatin. In order to be recognised and read by the transcriptional machinery chromatin has to be specifically modified. The basic chromatin mediated mechanisms of gene regulation are known, whereas the specific chromatin mediated mechanisms, which control important biological decisions, are not well understood. The aim of this joined research plan is therefore, to reveal mechanisms of gene regulation in the context of important biological models.
One of the surprising results from the last years is the finding that factors originally classified as activators or as repressors are often involved in both aspects of gene regulation, namely in activation as well as repression. Therefore, one of the central questions addressed by this Research Unit will be to determine the regulatory mechanisms involved in these dual regulations. Furthermore, transcription factors, which are sequence specific DNA binding factors, often have been shown to change the chromatin structure. In this way, the group of activators often changes the chromatin such that gene transcription is possible. In contrast, transcriptional repressors often antagonise the activator function. Dysregulation of gene activity may not only change the function of a cell, rather the rate of cellular divisions may be changed, such that tumor growth may be influenced or even enhanced.
All of the subjects dealt with by this Research Unit belong to central models of gene regulation. Within these models, the specific action of the protein complexes involved will be analysed. Therefore, we expect the identification of important biological mechanisms leading to changes in gene expression. Explicitly, we expect insight into the mechanisms of global genome inactivation, enhancer blocking by chromatin insulators, repression mechanisms by important DNA binding factors, as well as release from repression and activation.
One of the surprising results from the last years is the finding that factors originally classified as activators or as repressors are often involved in both aspects of gene regulation, namely in activation as well as repression. Therefore, one of the central questions addressed by this Research Unit will be to determine the regulatory mechanisms involved in these dual regulations. Furthermore, transcription factors, which are sequence specific DNA binding factors, often have been shown to change the chromatin structure. In this way, the group of activators often changes the chromatin such that gene transcription is possible. In contrast, transcriptional repressors often antagonise the activator function. Dysregulation of gene activity may not only change the function of a cell, rather the rate of cellular divisions may be changed, such that tumor growth may be influenced or even enhanced.
All of the subjects dealt with by this Research Unit belong to central models of gene regulation. Within these models, the specific action of the protein complexes involved will be analysed. Therefore, we expect the identification of important biological mechanisms leading to changes in gene expression. Explicitly, we expect insight into the mechanisms of global genome inactivation, enhancer blocking by chromatin insulators, repression mechanisms by important DNA binding factors, as well as release from repression and activation.
DFG Programme
Research Units
Projects
- A functional analysis of chromatin reorganisation during sperm morphogenesis in Drosophila (Applicant Renkawitz-Pohl, Renate )
- Analysis of the Molecular Mechanisms of Gene Regulation by E2F6 and the Functional Overlap between E2F6 and the Retinoblastoma Protein (Applicant Gaubatz, Stefan )
- Central coordination (Applicant Renkawitz, Rainer )
- Characterisation of novel nuclear substrates of protein arginine methyltransferases and the mechanisms of chromatin regulation by arginine methylation (Applicant Bauer, Uta-Maria )
- Chromatin mediated biological desisions (Applicant Renkawitz, Rainer )
- Chromatin profiling of dREAM and dNuRD complexes (Applicant Brehm, Alexander )
- Epigenetic regulation by p300: contributonof p300 to overall histone acetylation in vivo, and influence of p300-mediated histone acetylation on other histone modifications (Applicant Lutz, Werner )
- Interaction of the HAT complex SAS-I with chromatin assembly factors in S. cerevisiae (Applicant Ehrenhofer-Murray, Ann Elizabeth )
- Key mediators of the enhancer blocker function of Drosophila CTCF (Applicant Renkawitz, Rainer )
- Mechanisms of transcriptional repression by SUMOylation (Applicant Suske, Guntram )
- Role of Miz1 in the Atr/Chk1 signalling pathway and in Myc-induced apoptosis (Applicant Eilers, Martin )
- The polycomb group gene BMIl is a target gene of E2F-1: role of Bmi1 in E2F-controlled genetic programs and mode of functional interaction with E2F-1 (Applicant Lutz, Werner )
- Thyroid Hormone Receptor Corepressors: Requirements and Selectivity for Histone Modifications Cell Culture (Applicant Baniahmad, Aria )
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Rainer Renkawitz
