Genome-wide analysis of regulation of miRNA processing and its effects on transcriptome

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K20145
• Research Category: Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Home-Returning Researcher Development Research)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Nara Institute of Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Okamura Katsutomo 奈良先端科学技術大学院大学, 先端科学技術研究科, 教授 (70817733)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: miRNA / トランスクリプトーム / 転写後制御

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To maintain the levels of gene products within the normal range, genes are regulated at various levels including the process known as transcription, where DNA sequence is copied onto RNA molecules, and the processes after that. We focused our attention to a group of genes called microRNAs (miRNAs) that encode small RNAs as their gene products, and studied how miRNAs are regulated after transcription. By analyzing large gene expression data derived from human cancers, we identified candidates of novel mechanisms that might regulate the efficiency of miRNA production. By developing new methodsof biochemical and cell biological analyses, we molecularly characterized the novel mechanisms. In addition, we studied how levels of proteins involved in miRNA processing change over time during cellular differentiation. These results will help us understand how different types of genes including miRNA genes and protein coding genes are coordinately regulated to achieve precise gene regulation.

Free Research Field

遺伝子発現制御

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

今回の研究から様々な蛋白質がmiRNA遺伝子の発現制御に関わることが明らかになった。今回見つかった機構の多くは以前から蛋白質をコードする遺伝子のmRNAの生合成制御に関わることが知られている機構であり、miRNAとmRNAの生合成が共通の機構で制御されている可能性を示唆している。このような協調的機構が正常な細胞分化、発生過程でどのように機能しているのか、その破綻がどのようにして疾患につながるのか、今後の解析が必要である。本研究で開発された手法や実験材料は今後の本分野での研究に貢献できると期待される。