Project Title: DNA-binding preferences of transcription factors
Research overview. The Rodríguez-Martínez laboratory mission is to study how proteins read and interpret genetic information. The lab focuses on sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins called transcription factors (TFs). TFs respond to cellular and environmental cues by recognizing and binding to specific regions of the genome to regulate gene expression thus providing a direct link between genome and phenome. Determining a TF’s intrinsic DNA-binding preferences is critical for decoding gene regulatory networks that control cellular function. This project revolves around understanding (1) how TF complexes bind to specific DNA sequences; (2) how non-synonymous mutations alter the DNA-binding properties of TFs; and (3) how non-coding mutations on regulatory DNA modulates TF binding. PR-CLIMB participants will engage in multiple aspects of the biophysical characterization of TFs, including molecular cloning methods, protein expression/purification/characterization, and DNA-binding assays.
Skills/Techniques: PR-CLIMB participants will learn molecular cloning, PCR, gel electrophoresis, Western blot, PCR, electrophoretic-mobility shift assay (EMSA), affinity chromatography, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), DNA sequencing.
Webpage. For more information about the lab research, please visit the JARM lab website (http://thejarmlab.weebly.com/)
Skills/Techniques: PR-CLIMB participants will learn molecular cloning, PCR, gel electrophoresis, Western blot, PCR, electrophoretic-mobility shift assay (EMSA), affinity chromatography, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), DNA sequencing.
Webpage. For more information about the lab research, please visit the JARM lab website (http://thejarmlab.weebly.com/)