NSF Award
1051398
Intellectual merit. This research project concerns a specialized architectural domain within the cell nucleus, called the nucleolus. It has long been known that the nucleolus contains genes that produce the RNA component of cellular particles called ribosomes. The RNA made by these genes combines with certain proteins in the nucleolus and the resulting ribosome particles then move to the cytoplasm of the cell where they serve as factories for the biosynthesis of proteins. In research previously supported by NSF, the principal investigator of this project discovered that the nucleolus has additional functions beyond its role in the production of ribosomes. The present project will investigate the nucleolar presence of non-ribosome particles that contain proteins involved in cell growth and division. Related studies will track the dynamic movements of these non-ribosome particles between the nucleolus and the other regions of the nucleus. In a third line of investigation, the presence in nucleoli of special RNA molecules known as microRNAs will be pursued in an effort to understand the functional significance of their nucleolar localization.<br/><br/>Broader impacts. This research will be conducted in such a way as to optimize broader impacts. It will involve advanced training of a post-doctoral fellow and a number of rotation students. In addition to standard dissemination of the findings both in published articles and at scientific conferences, the principal investigator will incorporate this axis of research into his broader writing and lecturing on the cell biology of the nucleus. The principal investigator also makes use of his position as Associate Editor of the journal Nucleus to publish commentaries on the nucleolus and the nucleus, as he does also from time to time in the widely read FASEB Journal, of which he is an editor. It is believed that the present research project has the potential to illuminate a key conundrum about the cell nucleus, namely how such a dynamic organelle as regards the complexity of its molecular interactions nonetheless functions in such an integrated way, and in very high spatial constraints. Thus, this research may contribute to the broad intellectual structure of the cell biology field.
