Regulation and role of transcription at the centromere.

Funded Activity Summary

Every human cell has 46 chromosomes. Chromosomes are structures that carry genes in all our cells. The centromere is an essential component of a chromosome. It controls the process of cell division, and it ensures the equal division of the duplicated chromosomes. Defects in centromere function can result in various genetic diseases and development of cancers. The structure of the centromere is unique and its properties are determined by an array of proteins and other as yet unknown factors that bind to it. In our preliminary work, we have demonstrated that a novel non-protein component in the form of RNA (which are expressed products of genes) is essential for the binding of key proteins to the centromere. The presence and importance of such an RNA component has not been previously suspected and represents an exciting new mechanism that help to determine the functional and structural integrity of the centromere. In this project, we propose to study the details of this RNA and to define how this RNA-related mechanism operates to ensure the proper assembly and function of the centromere during cell division.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $737,801.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Genetics

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

cancer | centromere | chromatin structure | chromosomal abnormality | chromosomal disorder | chromosome mapping | genetic disease | mitosis | transcriptional regulation

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