Project Leader:       
Peter Unrau

Lead Institution:       
Simon Fraser University

Research Funding Program:   
SOF 2

  
This project is focused on developing a ‘first of its kind,' novel methodology to understand host pathogen interaction for many infectious diseases.

The central objective of this project is to develop a methodology that is able to rapidly and inexpensively characterize bacterial transcriptomes. In contrast to eukaryotic organisms, bacteria do not cap or polyadenylate their transcripts making it impossible to use existing high-speed methodologies to systematically study bacterial ribonucleic acid (RNA) expression. By enzymatically tagging biochemically distinct RNA populations in conjunction with high-throughput sequencing, researchers will develop a methodology that will not only identify transcriptional start sites, but that will also reveal the locations of secondary RNA processing. This will be the first such high-throughput methodology of its kind for bacteria.

The research team will initially focus on the transcriptome of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is an important human pathogen and model organism that is noted for its metabolic capacity. If successful, this inexpensive high-throughput methodology could be rapidly applied to study the transcriptomes of a broad range of bacteria providing important evolutionary insights into bacterial pathogenesis and identifying potential RNA targets for drug development.

By combining considerable skills in RNA biochemistry, P. aeruginosa genomics, bioinformatics and computing science, this project will capitalize on BC strengths, while involving internationally recognized experts in RNA bioinformatics. This combination of research strengths, together with the development of this new transcriptomics methodology, will serve as the foundation for planned future large-scale transcriptome mapping of key microorganisms of medical and industrial significance.

Related Links:
Funding Awarded > SOF 2