Changes in gene expression and alternative polyadenylation in response to Hypoxia

This project will investigate the role of alternative polyadenylation (APA) in the transcriptomic response to cellular stress. APA is the use of alternative polyadenylation sites during transcription to give mRNA transcripts with varying 3'UTRs. These 3'UTRs often contain signal sequences which influence the transcripts localisation, function and stability. Therefore, APA can greatly affect the transcriptome in response to a specific cellular state. HEK293T cells will be subjected to a range of environmental insults such as reactive oxygen species and Ultraviolet radiation. Nuclear and cytoplasmic mRNA will be isolated from the cells and sequenced using RNA-Seq. Bioformatic analysis will evaluate any changes in the APA profile and identify key alterations to the transcriptome which will then undergo further investigation.

BBSRC Priority Areas:

Systems approaches to the biosciences
Data driven biology

WUB, ENWW