This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial biology for FY2004. The fellowship supports training and research on the basic biology of protozoan, microalgal, fungal, archaeal, bacterial and viral species that are not generally considered to be model organisms. Further, it provides opportunities for recent doctoral recipients to obtain additional training in microbial biology, to gain research experience under the sponsorship of established scientists, and to broaden their scientific horizons beyond the research experiences during the undergraduate and graduate training. These fellowships are further designed to assist new scientists to direct their research efforts across traditional disciplinary lines and to avail themselves of unique research resources, sites, and facilities, including foreign locations.
The research and training plan is entitled "Regulation of heterochromatin by non-coding RNAs in Tetrahymena." In the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, a process called DNA elimination occurs, which allows for the formation of a somatic macronucleus (transcriptionally active) from a germ line micronucleus. During this process approximately 15% of DNA sequences, called internally eliminated sequences (IES) will be eliminated from the newly forming macronucleus. Although the precise biological function of programmed DNA elimination is unclear, heterochromatin formation and small RNAs are undoubtedly involved in regulating this process. The goal of this study is to identify the complexity of proteins and RNAs that are responsible for targeting DNA elimination.
