Page 171 - CSIR-IGIB Annual Report 2020-21
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DBT-Ramalingaswami Fellow | RNA Biology and Translational control in Cancer
RNA is a multifunctional molecule with both protein-coding and non-coding functions. While regulatory
elements in the untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNAs contribute to gene regulation at the post-
transcriptional level, the non-coding transcriptome has been shown to play role in almost all biological
processes. In the recent years, the distinction between coding and non-coding RNAs has been blurred
by the discovery of hybrid genes, bifunctional RNAs, micro-peptide encoding long non-coding RNAs and
circular RNAs. In addition to this pool of diverse transcripts, there is the process of stop-codon read
through, wherein ribosomes occasionally disregard stop codons to create proteins with distinct and
elongated C-termini. Moreover, stop codon mutations in cancer can lead to C-terminally extended
proteins with altered functions.
Sonam Dhamija is interested in understanding the role of the non-coding RNA regions in shaping the
complexity of the cellular proteome under stress and cancer. Her work relies on cell and molecular
biology tools for biochemical and functional characterization of RNA targets and their interaction
partners, mainly in cell culture models.
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