Post-transcriptional Regulation Technologies - Erin Zwack

Post-transcriptional Regulation Technologies

Overview:

  Regulation of translation provides an excellent tool for research on metabolic and other pathways in organisms, and for the production of different sensors by controlling the translation of specific genes depending on cellular conditions.  Further development of these types of technology could provide a “knock-down” equivalent to RNAi available in some eukaryotes.  A gene of interest could be expressed normally at all times when the regulator is not active; thus, no ill effects will result before the pathway activates if the gene has another purpose as well.  Other sythetic biologists could use these technologies to  engineer fast-responding, RNA-based biological sensors for environmental chemicals, or novel pathways.   

Prokaryotes:

  Isaacs FJ, et al. Engineered riboregulators enable post-transcriptional control of	gene expression. Nat Biotechnol. (2004) 22:841-47.

  Dr. Gallivan's work on synthetic riboswitches

Eukaryotes:

   Bayer TS and Smolke CD. Programmable ligand-controlled riboregulators of eukaryotic gene expression. Nat Biotechnol. (2005) 3:337-43.