Hahn Lab
Research
Research
Current Research Interests
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| The research focus of the Hahn Laboratory is the mechanism and regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. In eukaryotes, RNA polymerases are components of large protein machines which function to correctly position the polymerase at the beginning of a gene and serve to integrate signals that switch transcription on and off. Most of the subunits of the transcription machinery are essential for growth. Regulation of transcription is one of the key steps in control of cell growth, differentiation, and development. Defects in transcription and its regulation directly contribute to human illnesses such as cancer, inflammation, heart disease, neurological disorders, and birth defects. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the transcription process is important for understanding gene control and the action of transcription regulators. The Hahn laboratory uses yeast (S. cerevisiae) as a model organism to study these processes. The eukaryotic transcription machinery has been highly conserved through evolution from yeast to humans, and work in the yeast system directly translates to more complex eukaryotic systems. Yeast also provides a powerful genetic and biochemical system to analyze this complex process. Research in the laboratory aims to decipher key protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions within the transcription machinery and its regulatory factors that are fundamental to the regulation and mechanism of transcription. See below for more detailed information about our research: |
|  Structure of the TATA binding protein (TBP; red) in complex with DNA. This protein-DNA complex nucleates assembly of the polymerase II transcription machinery at a promoter. (see Kim et al, 1993; Geiger et al, 1996) |
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| last updated Wed, Sept 9, 2009 |
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