秀丽线虫环境RNA干扰功能及功能机理研究

项目名称： 秀丽线虫环境RNA干扰功能及功能机理研究

项目编号： No.31471225

项目类型： 面上项目

立项/批准年度： 2015

项目学科： 遗传学与生物信息学、细胞生物学

项目作者： 单革

作者单位： 中国科学技术大学

项目金额： 90万元

中文摘要： 动物始终和其生活环境进行着相互作用，并且动物必须对其生活环境中的多种因子做出相应的反应。环境RNA干扰是指外源RNA分子会进入一些种类动物的细胞中、并且干扰这些动物的基因表达的现象。环境RNA干扰最初是在秀丽隐杆线虫中被发现的。利用表达特定dsRNA序列的重组大肠杆菌喂饲秀丽线虫，或将其浸泡在dsRNA溶液中，即可在秀丽线虫体内触发针对特定mRNA序列的RNA干扰现象。我们实验室已发表的研究表明，细菌中的内源性非编码RNAs也可以干扰线虫的生理和基因表达。本项目将集中研究秀丽线虫环境RNAi的机理。具体地，在此项目支持下，我们将研究环境非编码RNA进入秀丽线虫、在线虫细胞间转运、在线虫细胞内发挥基因表达调控功能的分子机理。

中文关键词： 非编码RNA；秀丽线虫；环境RNA干扰；基因表达调控；物种间关系

英文摘要： Animals interact with their environments all the time, and must react to multiple factors present in the environment. Environmental RNA interference (RNAi) represents the phenomenon that RNA molecules present in the environment can enter into cells of some animals, and can further interfere with the gene expression of animal cells. Environmental RNAi was initially identified in Caenorhabditis elegans. Feeding of recombinant E. coli expressing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) or soaking in the solution of dsRNA can trigger environmental RNAi in C. elegans. Our lab also reported that endogenous E. coli noncoding RNAs can also regulate gene expression and physiological conditions of C. elegans. This propose focuses on the study of the mechanism of C. elegans environmental RNAi. More specifically, under the support of this grant, we will investigate molecular mechanism of the entry and transportation of environmental noncoding RNAs into worms and between C. elegans cells, and further how these environmental noncoding RNAs regulate gene expression inside C. elegans cells.

英文关键词： noncoding RNA;C. elegans;Environmental RNAi;Regulation of gene expression;Inter-species interaction