Lincoln (Neb.) - Nov. 10, 2000 - University of Nebraska-Lincoln plant-genetic research led by biologist Heriberto Cerutti is featured in the Nov. 10 edition of Science magazine, the global weekly of research. His studies are bringing new insights into mechanisms of gene regulation that could control or "silence" genes in certain viruses.
Cerutti, a biology professor and researcher in the NU Plant Science Initiative, has co-authored with his NU team "Transgene and Transposon Silencing Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by a DEAH-Box RNA Helicase." His co-authors and research collaborators are NU postdoctoral students Byeong-ryool Jeong and Chaomei Zhang, and former NU student Dancia Wu-Scharf, now at Cornell University.
Cerutti's team uses a unicellular green alga as its model system to show the molecular basis of gene silencing. The team can introduce foreign genes, or transgenes, into cells, characterize how they are silenced or repressed, and isolate genes affecting this process. Some of the newly identified genes also appear to be involved in the repair of DNA breaks and in antiviral responses.
"A better understanding of how cells express their genes and cope with damage to their DNA will have important biotechnological implications, particularly for plant genetic engineering and somatic gene therapy," Cerutti said.
Cerutti said the simplicity of the one-celled green alga lets researchers more easily isolate and characterize the genes. Ultimately, the research could have implications on agricultural biotechnology and medicine.
"This knowledge may lead to the improvement of transgenic crops and animals to better strategies for gene therapy in humans," he said. "Some of the processes we are studying appear to play essential roles in normal gene regulation leading to the control of genomic parasites such as transposons and viruses."
Science magazine, published by the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, is one of the most prestigious scientific
journals. Cerutti also was invited to discuss the research results at the
1999 Gordon Research Conference on Epigenetics and the 2000 RNA Silencing
meeting at the prestigious Banbury Center of the Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory in New York.
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