The role of the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of the S-layer gene from Thermus thermophilus was analyzed through the isolation of Delta 5'UTR mutants. In these mutants the half-life of splA mRNA was strongly reduced and slpA transcription was no longer subjected to growth phase-dependent repression. Overproduction and detachment of the external envelopes of the mutants were observed in station...

Description The gene contains five exons and four introns; it is composed of a variable 5' untranslated region, a 296 bp coding sequence, a 3' untranslated region and a polyA tail. Transcription The gene has 5 alternatively spliced variants encoding the same protein; the variant 1 represents the longest transcript (951 bp), all the other variants have distinct and shorter 5'UTR as compared to v...

The human genome encodes over 500 microRNAs (miRNAs), small RNAs (19 to 26 nucleotides [nt]) that regulate the expressions of diverse cellular genes. Many cellular processes are altered through a variety of mechanisms by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. We asked whether HCMV infection leads to changes in the expression of cellular miRNAs and whether HCMV-regulated miRNAs are important fo...

MicroRNAs form one of the groups of small noncoding RNA molecules that have completely changed our understanding of gene regulatory networks. Because microRNAs have been discovered only relatively recently, most of their functions remain unknown, providing a challenge to both experiment and theory. I review several computational approaches pursued in our group to answer this challenge. In parti...

Asymmetric cell division plays an indispensable role during corticogenesis for producing new neurons while maintaining a self-renewing pool of apical progenitors. The cellular and molecular determinants favouring asymmetric division are not completely understood. Here, we identify a novel mechanism for generating cellular asymmetry through the active transportation and local translation of Cycl...