BIOCHEMISTRY

The Hoskins Lab studies hotspot mutations in the spliceosome protein SF3b1 that cause myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and other blood cancers

New families of nucleotidyl transferase enzymes. The enzyme GLD-2 was discovered in C. elegans through a combination of genetics and biochemistry (collaboration of Kimble and Wickens labs). This led to tethered function assays that revealed families of regulatory enzymes that add A’s (PAPs) or U’s (PUPs) to a wide range of RNAs. Both families have widespread roles in biology, including development, the nervous system, and disease. From the Wickens lab

RNA-protein interactions inside a cell identified by “RNA tagging” A chimeric protein consisting of an RNA-binding protein (RBP) fused to a U-adding enzyme (PUP) is expressed in a cell. Binding of that RBP-PUP protein to an mRNA via a binding element (blue rectangle) marks that RNA with U’s. From the Marv Wickens lab

Data from the Hoskins Lab depicting single molecule colocalization of the yeast U1 snRNP and Branchpoint Bridging Protein (BBP) during spliceosome E complex formation

RNA regulation drives cell fate decisions in the germ cells in all animals. This general principle emerged from work on the nematode germline, which is pictured here with its stem cells at one end (blue) and gametes at the other (oocytes, green; sperm, red). From the Judith Kimble lab

Model of the yeast Sen1-dependent termination complex scanning a nascent RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcript. Binding of terminator elements in the transcript to Nrd1 and Nab3 elicits termination of transcription in a manner dependent on the helicase activity of Sen1 and glutamate 108 of the Rpb11 subunit. From the Dave Brow lab

Tracks of machinery that support local translation in dendrites. From the Jill Wildonger lab

Human cardiomyocyte derived from IPS cells. From the Mike Sheets lab

U1 snRNP (red) and branchpoint bridging protein (green) binding events on 30 single molecules of pre-mRNA, seen by Colocalization Single Molecule Spectroscopy. Spliceosome E complex formation is noted by the blue bars. From the Aaron Hoskins lab