Dustin Hite

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Dustin Hite

Eukaryotic cells employ numerous mechanisms to regulate gene expression. One such mechanism is the control of transcript abundance for each gene in the genome. While studies over previous decades have focused primarily on the importance of transcription in altering transcript abundance, mRNA decay has also proved be an equally powerful mechanism for adjusting the abundance of specific transcripts. To gain an understanding of the ways in which eukaryotes modulate mRNA decay, I will develop a global pulse-chase assay. This assay will then be used to measure the decay rates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcripts under various physiological conditions. This data set will reveal common themes and elements of the yeast transcript decay program and will be integrated with current knowledge of gene expression mechanisms. Currently I am in the final stages of protocol development using a custom array of my design to simultaneously measure decay rates of approximately 400 yeast transcripts.