Project acronym EURECA
Project Eukaryotic Regulated RNA Catabolism
Researcher (PI) Torben Heick Jensen
Host Institution (HI) AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Country Denmark
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS1, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary "Regulation and fidelity of gene expression is fundamental to the differentiation and maintenance of all living organisms. While historically attention has been focused on the process of transcriptional activation, we predict that RNA turnover pathways are equally important for gene expression regulation. This has been implied for selected protein-coding RNAs (mRNAs) but is virtually unexplored for non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs).
The intention of the EURECA proposal is to establish cutting-edge research to characterize mammalian nuclear RNA turnover; its factor utility, substrate specificity and regulatory capacity. We foresee that RNA turnover is at the core of gene expression regulation - forming intricate connection to RNA productive systems – thus, being centrally placed to determine RNA fate. EURECA seeks to dramatically improve our understanding of cellular decision processes impacting RNA levels and to establish models for how regulated RNA turnover helps control key biological processes.
The realization that the number of ncRNA producing genes was previously grossly underestimated foretells that ncRNA regulation will impact on most aspects of cell biology. Consistently, aberrant ncRNA levels correlate with human disease phenotypes and RNA turnover complexes are linked to disease biology. Still, solid models for how ncRNA turnover regulate biological processes in higher eukaryotes are not available. Moreover, which ncRNAs retain function and which are merely transcriptional by-products remain a major challenge to sort out. The circumstances and kinetics of ncRNA turnover are therefore important to delineate as these will ultimately relate to the likelihood of molecular function. A fundamental challenge here is to also discern which protein complements of non-coding ribonucleoprotein particles (ncRNPs) are (in)compatible with function. Balancing single transcript/factor analysis with high-throughput methodology, EURECA will address these questions."
Summary
"Regulation and fidelity of gene expression is fundamental to the differentiation and maintenance of all living organisms. While historically attention has been focused on the process of transcriptional activation, we predict that RNA turnover pathways are equally important for gene expression regulation. This has been implied for selected protein-coding RNAs (mRNAs) but is virtually unexplored for non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs).
The intention of the EURECA proposal is to establish cutting-edge research to characterize mammalian nuclear RNA turnover; its factor utility, substrate specificity and regulatory capacity. We foresee that RNA turnover is at the core of gene expression regulation - forming intricate connection to RNA productive systems – thus, being centrally placed to determine RNA fate. EURECA seeks to dramatically improve our understanding of cellular decision processes impacting RNA levels and to establish models for how regulated RNA turnover helps control key biological processes.
The realization that the number of ncRNA producing genes was previously grossly underestimated foretells that ncRNA regulation will impact on most aspects of cell biology. Consistently, aberrant ncRNA levels correlate with human disease phenotypes and RNA turnover complexes are linked to disease biology. Still, solid models for how ncRNA turnover regulate biological processes in higher eukaryotes are not available. Moreover, which ncRNAs retain function and which are merely transcriptional by-products remain a major challenge to sort out. The circumstances and kinetics of ncRNA turnover are therefore important to delineate as these will ultimately relate to the likelihood of molecular function. A fundamental challenge here is to also discern which protein complements of non-coding ribonucleoprotein particles (ncRNPs) are (in)compatible with function. Balancing single transcript/factor analysis with high-throughput methodology, EURECA will address these questions."
Max ERC Funding
2 497 960 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym MatMech
Project Live Tapings of Material Formation: Unravelling formation mechanisms in materials chemistry through Multimodal X-ray total scattering studies
Researcher (PI) Kirsten Marie oernsbjerg Jensen
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Country Denmark
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE5, ERC-2018-STG
Summary With this proposal, I want to develop a new, multimodal approach to in situ X-ray scattering studies to unravel formation mechanisms of the solid state. The aim of the project is to develop a unified view of metal oxide nucleation processes on the atomic scale: From precursor complexes over pre-nucelation clusters to the final crystalline particle.
The development of new materials relies on our understanding of the relation between material structure, properties and synthesis. While the intense focus on ‘materials by design’ have made it possible to predict the properties of many materials given an atomic arrangement, actually knowing how to synthesize it is a completely different story. Material synthesis methods are to a large degree developed by extensive parameter studies based on trial-and-error experiments. Specifically, our knowledge of particle nucleation is lacking, as even non-classical views on nucleation such as the concept of pre-nucleation clusters do not apply an atomistic view of the formation process. Here, I want to use new methods in X-ray total scattering and Pair Distribution Function analysis to follow nucleation processes to establish the framework needed for predictive material synthesis. One of the large challenges in studying nucleation is the lack of a characterization method that can give structural information on materials without long-range order. I have demonstrated that time-resolved X-ray total scattering gives new possibilities for following structural changes in a synthesis, and the use of total scattering has opened for a new view on material formation. However, the complexity of the structures involved in nucleation processes is too large to obtain sufficient information from X-ray total scattering alone. Here, I will combine X-ray total scattering data with complementary techniques using a new multimodal approach for complex modelling analysis, providing a unifying view on material nucleation.
Summary
With this proposal, I want to develop a new, multimodal approach to in situ X-ray scattering studies to unravel formation mechanisms of the solid state. The aim of the project is to develop a unified view of metal oxide nucleation processes on the atomic scale: From precursor complexes over pre-nucelation clusters to the final crystalline particle.
The development of new materials relies on our understanding of the relation between material structure, properties and synthesis. While the intense focus on ‘materials by design’ have made it possible to predict the properties of many materials given an atomic arrangement, actually knowing how to synthesize it is a completely different story. Material synthesis methods are to a large degree developed by extensive parameter studies based on trial-and-error experiments. Specifically, our knowledge of particle nucleation is lacking, as even non-classical views on nucleation such as the concept of pre-nucleation clusters do not apply an atomistic view of the formation process. Here, I want to use new methods in X-ray total scattering and Pair Distribution Function analysis to follow nucleation processes to establish the framework needed for predictive material synthesis. One of the large challenges in studying nucleation is the lack of a characterization method that can give structural information on materials without long-range order. I have demonstrated that time-resolved X-ray total scattering gives new possibilities for following structural changes in a synthesis, and the use of total scattering has opened for a new view on material formation. However, the complexity of the structures involved in nucleation processes is too large to obtain sufficient information from X-ray total scattering alone. Here, I will combine X-ray total scattering data with complementary techniques using a new multimodal approach for complex modelling analysis, providing a unifying view on material nucleation.
Max ERC Funding
1 493 269 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-02-01, End date: 2024-01-31
Project acronym WATERUNDERTHEICE
Project Where is the water under the Greenland ice sheet?
Researcher (PI) Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Country Denmark
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Recent analysis of radar-depth sounder data has shown that many areas of the Greenland ice sheet have melt water under the base. The extent of the wet base and distribution of melt water are poorly known. Also lakes under the ice have not been discovered in contrast with those in Antarctica. The effect of the water beneath the ice, however, is well documented: it lubricates the bed and removes the friction between the basal ice and underlying bedrock. The ice with a wet bed flows faster, reacts rapidly to changes in climate and the basal-melt water contributes to the fresh-water supply to the ocean from the Greenland ice sheet. The primary objectives of the project are to map melt water extent of the Greenland ice sheet and its impact by tracing internal layers and analyzing bedrock returns from airborne radio-echo sounding data, and use mapping results in conjunction with ice-sheet and hydrostatic models for the movement of the basal water to predict the ice-sheet s response to climate change. The information derived from deep ice-cores that reach the bed will be used to constrain models. We will also study the basal material (dust, DNA and microbiological material) and bedrock properties from the deep-ice core sites. This will add a further dimension to the study and provide opportunities to look for life under the ice and constrain the age of the Greenland ice sheet. The proposed research is a high risk project because of the difficulty in accessing basal conditions under 3-km of ice with a potential for high payoff science. The team will consist of scientists and engineers with expertise in the palaeoclimate, radar sounding and signal processing, and ice-sheet models.
Summary
Recent analysis of radar-depth sounder data has shown that many areas of the Greenland ice sheet have melt water under the base. The extent of the wet base and distribution of melt water are poorly known. Also lakes under the ice have not been discovered in contrast with those in Antarctica. The effect of the water beneath the ice, however, is well documented: it lubricates the bed and removes the friction between the basal ice and underlying bedrock. The ice with a wet bed flows faster, reacts rapidly to changes in climate and the basal-melt water contributes to the fresh-water supply to the ocean from the Greenland ice sheet. The primary objectives of the project are to map melt water extent of the Greenland ice sheet and its impact by tracing internal layers and analyzing bedrock returns from airborne radio-echo sounding data, and use mapping results in conjunction with ice-sheet and hydrostatic models for the movement of the basal water to predict the ice-sheet s response to climate change. The information derived from deep ice-cores that reach the bed will be used to constrain models. We will also study the basal material (dust, DNA and microbiological material) and bedrock properties from the deep-ice core sites. This will add a further dimension to the study and provide opportunities to look for life under the ice and constrain the age of the Greenland ice sheet. The proposed research is a high risk project because of the difficulty in accessing basal conditions under 3-km of ice with a potential for high payoff science. The team will consist of scientists and engineers with expertise in the palaeoclimate, radar sounding and signal processing, and ice-sheet models.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 999 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
