B. subtilis gene expression & replication perturbation

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): My goal is to understand the systematic modulation of gene expression in response to problems during DNA replication. Failure to complete DNA replication in a timely manner can lead to cell death or genome instability, often associated with cancer. In many organisms, the effects of DNA damage and other causes of distress during replication are often mitigated through transcriptional responses. Recently, a novel global transcriptional response was identified in a functional genomic analysis of Bacillus subtilis cells perturbed in DNA replication. At least 50 of these genes are thought to be regulated by DnaA, an essential and well conserved ATPase, transcription factor, and replication initiator. I plan to identify the genes directly regulated by DnaA in B. subtilis, address how DnaA is activated as a transcriptional regulator, and examine how its target promoters are structured to respond to it. [unreadable] [unreadable]