Molecular Mechanisms of Transcriptional Reprogramming in Health and Disease

Transcription - the process of RNA synthesis across the genome - defines cell types and cellular responses. Regulatory steps of transcription have been extensively investigated at promoters of mRNA encoding genes, providing our current comprehension of the ordered interactions of DNA elements, transcription factors, and RNA Polymerase II.

However, mRNA constitutes only 3% of the total RNA in a cell, and the dynamics and mechanisms that control RNA Polymerases I, II, and III during differentiation, diseases, and cell stress remain poorly understood. Moreover, how transcription is coordinated between distinct compartments, such as mitochondria and nucleus - or genomes of pathogen and the host - remain virtually unexplored and require novel tools.

This docent lecture describes how Anniina Vihervaara's research contributes to method development, allowing to monitor the process of RNA synthesis by all RNA Polymerases at nucleotide-resolution genome-wide. She will further describe how researchers use genome-wide tools to elucidate molecular mechanisms that coordinate transcription upon acute stress, during differentiation, and in distinct diseases, such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and infections.