Description:

The Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics presents:

Karlene A. Cimprich, PhD
Professor and Vice-Chair of Chemical and Systems Biology and, by courtesy, of Biochemistry
Stanford Cancer Institute Leader, Genome Stability Research
Stanford University, School of Medicine

Presentation: 

RNA Meets DNA: Dangerous Encounters in the Genome

Abstract:

R-loops are three-stranded nucleic acid structures that form co-transcriptionally and which are comprised of an RNA-DNA hybrid and a displaced strand of ssDNA. Although R-loops have important functions in cells, their aberrant formation can also lead to genome stability causing replication stress and double-strand break formation. We showed that a surprising consequence of unscheduled R-loop formation is the release of RNA-DNA hybrid fragments into the cell cytoplasm and sensing of these hybrids by innate immune receptors. I will describe our recent studies demonstrating how these pathological hybrids arise in different contexts and the features that cause them to threaten genome stability. Our findings reveal two distinct mechanisms by which cytoplasmic RNA-DNA hybrids accumulate and serve to link transcriptional dysregulation and innate immune activation.

Host: Dr. Daniel Foltz, Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

Refreshments will be served.