Analysis of higher-order structures of mitochondria DNA using the enChIP technology

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26650059
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cell biology
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Fujii Hodaka 大阪大学, 微生物病研究所, 准教授 (30302665)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: ミトコンドリア / 遺伝子座特異的クロマチン免疫沈降法 / クロマチン / enChIP / ミトコンドリアDNA / TAL

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Genetic information in mammalian cells is separately stored in two organelles, the nucleus and the mitochondria. Extensive analyses have been done to elucidate chromatin structures and transcription factors of the nuclear DNA, whereas only limited information is available on higher order structures and transcription mechanisms of mitochondria DNA (mtDNA). In this study, we aimed to isolate transcriptional regulatory regions of mtDNA, which retains molecular interactions, using the engineered DNA-binding molecule-mediated chromatin immunoprecipitation (enChIP) technology to perform non-biased identification of molecules (proteins, RNAs, and others) associated with the region. Subsequently, their roles in regulation of functions of mtDNA such as gene expression will be explored in the hope to elucidate higher-order structures of mtDNA chromatin and gain mechanistic insight on transcriptional regulation of genes on mtDNA.

Free Research Field

分子生物学