Tutorial 5-7 Flashcards
The steady state transcript abundance is the result of?
The balance between transcription rate (mRNA production) and the mRNA degradation rate (mRNA destruction)
What experiments can be run to measure the abundance of mRNA but not the rate of transcription initiation.
- Norther blotting
- Microarrays
- RT-qPCR
What experiments can be run to measure the rate of transcription.
- Pulse labelling
2. Nuclear run-on assays
Pulse labelling principles
- Transcription rate is monitored in vivo by measuring the amount of radioactively labelled UTP incorporated by RNA polymerase.
- Transcripts of interest are detected by hybridisation to unlabelled cDNA.
How to interpret the pulse labelling results .
- Signals with higher intensity (darker spots) indicate that more mRNA molecules have be transcribed during the labelling period.
- Results give an indication of the relative rate of transcription, or stability / degradation (half-life) of transcripts over time.
Steps of pulse labelling assay.
- Radioactive nucleotide are inserted into the cell.
- The radioactive nucleotides are incorporated into nascent RNA chains.
- Chase period with all unlabelled NTPs, then isolate total mRNA.
- To identify mRNA of interest, the mRNA are hybridised to DNA of interest.
- Detect signals quantify and compare results.
Pulse labelling limitations
- The radioactive nucleotides we insert are competing with the nucleotides already present in the cells cytoplasm resulting in the low signal.
- For genes with low transcription rates, prolonged pulse labelling may be needed for detection, this is a problem because the radioactive nucleotides can cause degradation of the transcripts.
What is pulse labelling used to determine.
The half-life of mRNA
Nuclear run on assay
- Radioactive nucleotides are incorporated into a nuclei that has been isolated from cells(in vitro)
- RNA polymerase molecules become “frozen” on genes in the isolated nuclei.
Why is nuclear run-on assay favoured over pulse labelling
- Degradation takes place in the cytoplasm but the nuclear run-on assay is performed within isolated nuclei(in vitro)
- Short labelling time (10-15 min) this leaves little time for degradation.
- Can detect low abundance of mRNA
Advantages of nuclear run on assay.
- Results are not influenced by mRNA degradation.
2. Mor radioactive nucleotides are incorporated because cytoplasm is removed.
Bisulfide sequencing is used for?
Detecting DNA methylation
How does bisulfides sequencing work?
- Unmethylated cytosine is converted to uracil by the bisulfite- treatment. Since uracil is not a nucleotide used in DNA this will be repaired to Thymine.
- Methylated C are not changed by bisulfite treatment thus remain C’s.
.3. When a untreated sequence is compared to the bisulfide sequence. If both sequences have a C present at a position that C is methylated, if the untreated seq has a c at a position but the treated seq has a T at a position that is a unmethylated C.
What are DNAase 1 hypersensitive sites.
- Nucleosome- free promoter regions
2. Nucleosome free enhancer region
What are DNase 1 insensitive sites
30nm or higher packed chromatin
What DNase 1 sensitive sites
Beads on a string also called 10nm packed chromatin
Techniques to study chromatin structure
- DNAse 1
2. MNase
Simplified steps of DNase 1 and MNase digestion.
- Lyse cell
- Extract nuclei
- Permeabilise nuclei
- Digest with DNase 1 or MNase
- Quench
- Sequence digested DNA
How interpret DNase 1 results
- More open chromatin structure will be digested at Lower DNase 1 concentrations.
- Therefore the higher the DNase 1 concentration needed the tighter the chromatin is packed.
- From this we can tell if the genes belonging to the chromatin are transcriptionally active. Open chromatin= active. Closed chromatin = inactive
CDNA synthesis steps
- Oligo dT primer is bound to mRNA
- Reverse transcriptase copies first cDNA strand.
- Reverse transcriptase digests and displaces mRNA and copies second strand of cDNA
- Double stranded cDNA is created.
Steps of recombinant protein production
- Isolate mRNA
- Run a RT-qPCR
- Insert cDNA into expression plasmid.
- Purify protein