Thomas Jefferson University

Despite very significant advances in the field of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), much remains to be uncovered.  This project will study a novel and currently under-characterized class of non coding RNA transcripts (ncRNAs) that are linked to pyknons.  Pyknons are a group of DNA motifs that were discovered several years ago using a data agnostic pattern discovery approach and which exhibit a number of intriguing properties.  To date the pyknon framework has correctly anticipated several discoveries in the RNA field, including: the existence of novel classes of short ncRNAs with specific lengths; the role of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) as a source of regulatory ncRNAs; and the targeting of the introns of unspliced mRNAs by exon-derived ncRNAs.  The planned work will combine computational analyses with modern experimental techniques to study samples from several diverse human conditions in order to determine the rules governing the pyknons’ biogenesis, processing and mechanisms of regulatory action.