Role of the Telomere End Protection Complex in Telomere Main

摘要

Telomeres are the protective ends of chromosomes that are necessary for maintaining the viability of a cell and the integrity of its genome. One essential function of telomeres is to protect the chromosome end from being degraded by nucleases that are normally present in any cell. Unprotected chromosome ends could fuse to each other leading to loss of genetic material, genomic instability, and subsequent carcinogenesis. The focus of my research is two-fold: (1) to understand the mechanism of chromosome end protection in the well-studied model organism, S. cerevisiae; and (2) to extend the knowledge gained in yeast to humans by identifying human homologues of the essential proteins involved in end protection. Experiments geared toward addressing the first goal have led to the identification of two residues in Cdcl3 that are phosphorylated in vivo. Phosphorylation of these two residues is likely to be important in directing the overall low, level of telomerase in to short telomeres that require elongation. In order to extend these and any future observations to humans, human homologues of Cdcl3, Stnl and Ten1 must first be identified. Increasing data suggests that Pot1 is the human homologue of Cdcl3. We have reported the identification of a putative human Stnl we are currently characterizing it as well.