The RNA Molecular Biology Laboratory (RMBL) studies the impact of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) on posttranscriptional gene regulation (PTGR). PTGR summarizes various processes acting upon coding and non-coding RNA and includes RNA maturation, ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assembly, transport, translation, and turnover (Figure 1).

The recent introduction of large-scale quantitative methods, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) and modern mass spectrometry (MS), allows for the first-time determination of the functional impact of RBPs on a systems-wide level and has sparked a renewed interest in the systematic characterization of PTGR processes.

Members of the RMBL focus on elucidating the function and molecular mechanisms of RNA binding proteins involved in RNA transport, RNA stability and turnover, and RNA translation. Broadly, we are pursuing four interdependent projects:

• Investigate the role of predicted AU-rich element binding proteins in determining mRNA turnover.
• Identify and characterize the interaction network of mRNA binding transport and shuttling proteins and their RNA targets at a sequence and functional level.
• Investigate the impact of select RBPs on translation initiation and elongation.
• Integrate the results from our systems-level determination of cis-acting elements into high-resolution maps of posttranscriptional regulatory events.