Roles of non-coding RNAs in translational control in response to environmental stress

Eukaryotic genomes are extensively transcribed generating many different RNAs with no known function. Gene expression is regulated at multiple levels in response to environmental stresses, including at the level of protein synthesis. One under-researched area is how non-protein coding RNAs (ncRNAs) contribute to translational controls in the model eukaryote yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The project will address this question. The project embraces new ways of working because It will involve the student undertaking a mix of computational and lab experiments including generating and analysing high-throughput RNA sequencing data sets to examine the association of ncRNAs with actively translating ribosomes and then studying experimentally their impact on translational controls in response to a range of environmental stresses. The project will build on existing strengths of the supervisory team and make use of various laboratory complementary expertise and resources including a recently generated series of 1502 molecular barcoded ncRNA gene deletion strains encompassing a wide range of ncRNAs for high-throughput functional analyses. Hence, the project is undertaking fundamental mechanistic molecular biology research while making use of modern technologies and represents World Class Research Underpinning the Biosciences.