UC San Diego

While the cells that comprise an organism contain largely the same DNA content, the RNA content of cells varies widely among different cell types and healthy vs. diseased cells. The portions of the genome that are transcriptionally active define cell identity and a highly-regulated set of RNA processing steps mediate the generation of the cellular RNA pool. A host of conditions are linked to dysfunctional RNA processing, and the development of means to measure and manipulate cellular RNA has been a persistent concern in the biotechnological fields. This thesis focuses on the development flexible and programmable means to measure and manipulate RNA in living cells using both synthetic and repurposed natural systems.