Gene Expression and Regulation

The regulated expression of genes is critical for all forms of life to effectively survive and thrive in their environment. Some common regulatory mechanisms are used by plants, animals, fungi, and microbes to control gene expression, but the complexity escalates from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. The study of these phenomena unites one of the largest groups of researchers in the Genetics Program at MSU.

Gene expression may change in response to physical signals from the environment, interactions between species, and signals within an organism. Regulatory mechanisms operate at many levels: through alterations in DNA (chromatin) structure, modification of transcription, stability, or translation of mRNA, or alterations in protein activity through post-translational modification. These mechanisms are studied in laboratories at MSU using state-of-the-art methodologies coupled with classical methods to more fully understand the processes of gene regulation. It is the combination of these strategies that is the strength of this group.

The approaches to study gene expression and regulation vary from the atomic level to the molecular level to the population level, and this depth of examination is reflected in the research groups composing this area of the MSU Genetics Program. Techniques of biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, and genomics, are used in the study of such varied areas as genetic and infectious diseases of animals (Ewart, Mansfield, Mulks), humans (Arvidson, Bagdasarian, Mansfield, Triezenberg), and plants (Allison, Howe, Sticklen, Trail, Walton); cancer (Esselman, Fluck, Kopachik, McCormick, Schwartz, Zacharewski), development (Arnosti, Champness, Kende, Kroos, vanNocker), bioremediation (Reddy, Rugh), and microbial ecology (Schmidt, Thomashow). Nutrition and improvement of crop production is a prominent area studied at all levels by a large number of researchers (Della Penna, Han, Nadler, Ohlrogge, Sticklen,). The research also encompasses basic cellular processes such as transcription (Burton, Geiger, Jump, Kuo, Thomashow, Triezenberg), post-transcriptional RNA modification (Koslowsky, Patterson), translation (Snyder), and organelle division (Osteryoung). Specialized classes and research opportunities are offered through the Gene Expression in Disease and Development focus group, composed of members of the Genetics Program whose research is concentrated on identifying basic mechanisms of transcriptional control (www.bch.msu.edu/GEDD).