Presenter(s): Chaney Hart—Biology
Faculty Mentor(s): Eric Selker, Ken-ichi Noma
Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation
The cohesin complex is a conserved protein complex that plays an important role in multiple aspects of genomic function . Of particular interest is cohesin’s demonstrated role in influencing 3D genomic structure . While previous work has identified basic elements of 3D genomic structure in the model organism Neurospora crassa, the undermining factors that contribute to these structures are unclear . We hypothesize that the cohesin complex may interact with heterochromatin to shape genomic architecture in N . crassa . Features of the cohesin complex such as where it is recruited, its contributions to gene regulation and its presence at topologically associated domains are widely divergent amongst model organisms in which it has been studied, making it important to establish basic features of this complex in N . crassa . In this study I took the first steps towards characterizing the cohesin complex in N . crassa by showing that cohesin shares features with well characterized yeast species such as enrichment over 3’ untranslated regions and intergenic regions of convergent genes across the genome . I also developed a strain of N . crassa that has a mutation in cohesin component RAD21 which leads to temperature-sensitive lethality . My findings and the strains I generated will be useful for further characterization of the cohesin complex in N . crassa and for exploration of the role this complex plays in genomic structure and function .