Post-transcriptional Regulation of Gene Expression
Post-transcriptional processing events play a crucial role in controlling gene expression. Our research is aimed at elucidating post-transcriptional gene regulatory processes in prokaryotes. We are particularly interested in investigating:
1) Molecular mechanisms that govern translation quality control;
2) Molecular basis for nonstop mRNA decay;
3) The mechanisms by which RNases and small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulate gene expression and RNA stability;
4) Biochemical mechanism of targeted proteolysis and the role of AAA+ proteases in bacterial pathogenesis;
5) Discovery of novel antibiotics and vaccines.
Our Approach
We use a combination of protein biochemistry, molecular genetics, functional genomics, bioinformatics, and structural approaches to determine the biological function and mechanism of action of RNA-protein complexes that participate in regulation of gene expression.