{"id":10,"date":"2019-10-03T21:38:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T20:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theakaylab.com\/?page_id=10"},"modified":"2023-05-25T10:46:48","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T09:46:48","slug":"science","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theakaylab.com\/?page_id=10","title":{"rendered":"Science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We study RNA modifications<\/strong>, RNA splicing<\/strong>, long non-coding RNAs<\/strong> and regulation of gene expression<\/strong> during germline development in animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During development, cells constantly face a decision between cell division and differentiation. Regulation of gene expression is key to this decision-making process. RNA is at the centre of many gene regulatory processes. We try to understand how different RNA-mediated mechanisms regulate gene expression during germ cell proliferation and differentiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are more than 150 distinct chemical modifications found on RNA. RNA modifications control the processing, stability, expression and function of diverse types of RNAs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RNA modifications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the majority of RNA modifications, we don’t know their biological role in multicellular organisms. We use a combination of genetic and biochemical tools to study the function of RNA-modifying enzymes and RNA modifications during animal development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RNA splicing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RNA splicing is generally known to remove intronic sequences and ligate exons to preserve accurate expression of both coding and non-coding genes. In addition, many organisms change the 5′ end of their mRNAs using SL trans-splicing. We study how RNA modifications and splicing factors regulate both cis- and trans-splicing mechanisms during germline development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metabolic regulation of gene expression<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dietary metabolites are required for a large number of cellular processes. Among these, vitamin B12 is essential for the cellular regeneration of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM). All methyltransferase enzymes use SAM during methylation reactions. We are studying how changing SAM levels in an organism affects gene expression and cellular methylations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lab, we use a wide range of techniques<\/p>\n\n\n\n