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Course, academic year 2023/2024
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Everything you wanted to know about gene expression but were afraid to ask - MB140P27
Title: Everything you wanted to know about gene expression but were afraid to ask
Czech title: Vše, co jste chtěli vědět o genové expresi, ale báli jste se zeptat
Guaranteed by: Department of Genetics and Microbiology (31-140)
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Actual: from 2023
Semester: summer
E-Credits: 3
Examination process: summer s.:combined
Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
Capacity: 15
Min. number of students: unlimited
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: taught
Language: English
Level: specialized
Note: enabled for web enrollment
Guarantor: RNDr. Leoš Valášek, DSc., Ph.D.
Teacher(s): Mgr. Adriana Roithová, Ph.D.
RNDr. Leoš Valášek, DSc., Ph.D.
Annotation -
Last update: Mgr. Hana Marková (09.02.2024)
While the central dogma of molecular biology still somehow stands,
many other dogmas in the field of gene expression are falling like ripe pears from a
pear tree. Indeed, much of what appeared to be indisputable truth when we were
students like you, has fallen into oblivion over time. But, is it really the case that much
of the old knowledge is simply no longer valid? Or is it also partly a matter of the
"publish or perish" competition and the pursuit of sensationalism in science at any
cost? Let’s look at the new discoveries in the field of gene expression regulation, the
underlying cutting-edge methodology, the old dogmas falling and new ones
emerging. However, let’s be critical, let’s be interactive, let’s learn together.

- this is an advanced course for MSc. and PhD students including Erasmus (in English)
- signing up for the course is HIGHLY recommended only after the completion of the bachelor program
- limit is 15 students per class
contacts: Leos Valasek (724731661; valasekl@biomed.cas.cz)
Adriana Roithova (739679009; adriana.roithova@biomed.cas.cz)
Literature -
Last update: Mgr. Hana Marková (27.04.2023)

Not specified - we will try to follow the most recent progress of the field of

regulation of gene expression.

Requirements to the exam -
Last update: Mgr. Hana Marková (27.04.2023)

Exam: combination of written and oral

Part A (20 mins); In a form of a journal club; we will pick a few recent, high profile

papers on exciting topics pertinent to regulation of gene expression for you to choose

from - well in advance of the exam. Your goal will be to introduce the topic of one of

them in a broader perspective, present and critically comment on the results, discuss

the proposed model, suggest alternative ways to prove or disprove the presented

findings, indicate of what you as the first author of this paper would do next.

Part B (25 mins); We will provide a brief introduction into some problem plus a set of

figures on separate sheets (either from our own work or from a published work of

others) - well in advance of the exam. Your task will be to create the story of the

paper in a form of the ppt and present it: i.e. to assemble the figs into a logical order,

to briefly describe the methods used, to write a few concluding words about a

particular figure and a connecting sentence to the next figure, to pick the most

appropriate topics for discussion, and as a bonus, to discuss these.

We do not really care how deep your theoretical knowledge is, we care about how

you can translate your theoretical knowledge into the ultimate goal/practical skill of

each researcher - writing a paper.

Do not get intimidated, this should be fun that will come very handy when you start

working seriously in a lab.

Syllabus -
Last update: Mgr. Hana Marková (27.04.2023)

1) Critical reading of literature, wise writing/structuring and “selling” your own work:

  • what to focus on when reading a paper
  • introduction into a proper structuring and writing your own paper
  • publishing/editorial process
  • identifying a knowledge gap / writing a grant
  • grant evaluation process

2) Translational control i.

  • history and what it teaches us
  • a genius of the past that has not yet been surpassed!

3) Translational control ii.

  • presence and future - have we really learnt anything?
  • new advances in translational control research: “The dogma is dead, long live the dogma!”
  • introduction into (pros and cons of) translational complex sequencing, single molecule/cells assays, other cutting-edge technology

4) CRISPr:

  • history
  • differences in CRISPR types (pros and cons of)
  • knock-down, -out, -ins
  • activation and inhibition of gene expression with CRISPR
  • CRISPR and modifying of the genome
  • visualization of the genome with CRISPR
  • targeting into cell compartments using CRISPR

5) The power of tRNAs and their fragments

  • canonical versus non-canonical roles of tRNAs and their fragments and their prospective exploitation in medicine

6) RNAs as a tool for therapy

  • history
  • advantages of RNA therapy
  • types of RNA therapy
  • types of RNA delivery methods
  • future of RNA therapy

7) circRNAs and their metabolism (or other ncRNA)

  • biogenesis (how they are formed)
  • detection
  • function
  • diseases

8) modifications of RNAs

  • types of modifications
  • function
  • detection (m6A-seq, capture-seq, mass-spec, Nanopore DNA sequencing)
  • readers, erasers
  • challenges

9) degradation of RNAs

  • mechanisms
  • how to study the RNA turnover (in vivo metabolic labelling, Akron-seq, PARE-seq, degradome-seq, TAIL-seq, SLAM-seq)
  • degron systems, siRNA

10) visualization of RNAs in a cell

  • FISH, molecular beacon, FIT
  • visualization techniques - pros and cons - for living cells (aptamers - protein based, fluorophore-aptamer pair, dye and quencher)

11) RNA structures and RNPs

  • function
  • methods for RNA structure determination (SHAPE-seq, DMS-seq, LIGR-seq)
  • the computational methods for RNA secondary structure modeling (RNAfold, iFOLD, Ufold,…)
  • advances in experimental RNA structure determination
  • RNP (domains, helicases)

12) Guided “journal club”

  • presentation of the most recent exciting paper or two
  • preparation for the exam - Part A

13) Guided “paper creating process”

  • presentation of all you should know to build your own story/paper
  • preparation for the exam - Part B

 
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