The lab is investigating how post-transcriptional control of gene expression regulates cell fate determination. Our research focuses on two post-transcriptional processes that govern sexual cell fate development in the nematode C. elegans. C. elegans is an excellent model system for exploring these problems since it has strong genetics, and is amenable to both molecular biology and biochemistry.
Hermaphrodites are female animals that make both sperm and oocytes.
TRA-1 promotes female cell fate by controlling the transcription of key genes, and is a member of the GLI family of transcription factors. The GLI family plays crucial roles in vertebrate and invertebrate development and human family members are involved in tumorogenesis and birth defects. C. elegans male development requires that TRA-1 activity is inhibited, and we find that this occurs by an RNA based mechanism that promotes the nuclear export of the protein. Presently, we are using yeast and worm genetics as well as molecular biology and biochemistry to identify other factors required for TRA-1 export and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism. We showed that TGEs govern the translation of mRNAs in a wide range of organisms including mice and humans, and likely is a common mechanism for regulating RNA activity.