Distinguishing coding and non-coding transcription across mammalian genomes
Nicholas J. Proudfoot, Professor, PhD
Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, UK
Short Bio.
Professor Proudfoot started his scientific career in 1973 at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Cambridge UK. After his postdoctoral training in the USA with Dr. Tom Maniatis, he started his own lab in 1981 at University of Oxford, in where his research focused on poly(A) signals and their genetics and biology. Currently his lab studies the molecular mechanisms that define the extent of transcription units in mammalian genomes by focusing on the molecular mechanism of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) termination.
During 35 years at Oxford, Professor Proudfoot has had the satisfaction of seeing his research field expand from a relatively small focus into an interconnecting series of topics widely considered to be central to gene expression. He has co-organized from the late 1980s, seven four-yearly spaced workshops at Oxford on “Eukaryotic RNA 3’ ends: formation and function”. These have provided a major forum for the field as it has developed over the last 40 years.
Professor Nicholas J. Proudfoot is the EMBO Member (1982-present), the Brownlee-Abraham Chair of Molecular Biology (2003-present), and the Fellow of the Royal Society (2005-present).
Abstract:
The dramatic achievement of sequencing the whole human genome has been tempered by the subsequent realisation that the human transcriptome is far more complex than initially anticipated; far from any clear understanding of how and why it is made. My lab has focused on the basic mechanism of transcriptional termination and associated RNA 3’ end processing by the major RNA polymerase II (Pol II) that is responsible for the synthesis of all pre-messenger RNA and most non-coding RNAs. We have uncovered a surprising diversity of termination mechanisms using gene specific analyses. We are now applying new native elongating transcription (NET) sequencing strategies to define all Pol II transcription units (especially mammalian NET-seq). Using this technology, we are uncovering unanticipated mechanistic cross talk between the basic transcription process and associated pre-mRNA and long non-coding RNA processing.
Time: Tuesday 16:00-17:00, November 21st, 2017
Venue: New Biology Building, Room 143
Host: Dr Qianwen Sun
