IBMiB group leader dr hab. Kinga Kamieniarz-Gdula received the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant.
Her project entitled “Alternative gene ends: the crosstalk of RNA cleavage and transcription termination” received support of €1.5 million.
Most human genes have several alternative ends. Typically the alternative end only modifies the gene’s function but in some cases it can dramatically change it, e.g. a tumour suppressor gene can turn into an oncogene. Widespread changes in gene end usage are characteristic of many processes e.g. differentiation and cancer like neuroblastoma. We do not understand what drives this selectivity. The project aims to test what determines which gene end is selected in certain conditions. Ultimately, understanding the complex crosstalk between RNA cleavage and transcription termination in alternative gene end selection will enable the manipulation of this process e.g. to alleviate diseases such as neuroblastoma.
