Abstract

Long noncoding RNAs (IncRNAs) are emerging as potential key regulators in gene expression networks and exhibit a surprising range of shapes and sizes. Many IncRNAs are transcribed by RNA polymerase II and are capped, polyadenylated, and spliced just like mRNAs. Using the non-polyadeylated RNA transcriptomic analysis, the speaker and her research group have identified several classes of new RNA species with unexpected formats. These RNA species are derived from long primary transcripts via noncanonical RNA processing pathways and are stabilized by different mechanisms, including capping by small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) – protein (snoRNP) complexes at their ends or the formation of circular structures. The speaker will discuss their most recent discoveries of the underlying mechanisms related to their formation and functional implications.  

About the speaker

Prof. Chen Ling-Ling received her BS in Biology from Lanzhou University, China, in 2000, and MS in Pharmacology from Shanghai Institute of Material Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2003. She started her PhD research in Biomedical Science with Prof. Gordon CARMICHAEL at the University of Connecticut Health, USA and obtained the degree in 2009. She has been a Principal Investigator at the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (SIBCB), Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2011 and is currently a Senior Principal Investigator there. 

Prof. Chen studies long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a giant and varied class of new RNA molecules. Her laboratory has developed methods for genome-wide discovery and characterization of non-polyadenylated RNAs, which led to the identification of IncRNA species with new formats including broadly expressed circular RNAs and sno-processed IncRNAs. Importantly, some such RNAs have been implicated in gene regulation and human diseases. Prof. Chen’s laboratory now investigates the biogenesis of these RNAs as well as their mechanisms of action in human health and disease.
 

For attendees’ attention

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HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study
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