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Non-coding RNAs of the Bithorax Complex in the Developing Drosophila Embryo

Abstract

Abstract

Non-coding RNAs of the Bithorax Complex in the Developing Drosophila Embryo

by

Jessica Christine Piel

Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cell Biology

University of California, Berkeley

Professor Michael Levine, Chair

The mechanisms for the precise regulatory control of genes have long been a question in the field of molecular biology. While traditional views of gene regulation focus on the cis-regulatory elements and transcription factors involved, a new field of study focuses on the trans-regulatory functions of non-coding RNAs. In recent years, both small and long non-coding RNAs have been recognized as important elements in the regulation of many different cellular processes, however, the identification and characterization of long non-coding RNAs is still in its infancy. The Bithorax Hox Gene Complex of Drosophila melanogaster has long been known to contain a multitude of long non-coding RNAs of unknown function. While many of the cis-regulatory mechanisms of this historical complex have since been worked out, many of the non-coding RNAs remain mysterious. With the advent of new techniques and a fresh RNA-centric viewpoint, several researchers have recently returned to the Bithorax Complex to study the vast non-coding transcription that pervades its inter- and intragenic regions. These studies reveal that these non-coding RNAs act in trans as important regulators of the protein-coding Hox gene, Ultrabithorax.

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