Ashutosh Dubey

My research specifically focuses on unraveling the role of RESC(RNA Editing Substrate binding Complex) and accessory factors in the RNA editing process of Trypanosoma brucei.

In our laboratory, we investigate the eukaryotic parasite Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of human African trypanosomiasis, also known as African sleeping sickness. My primary research interest lies in elucidating the mechanisms and regulation of RNA processing events in T. brucei, particularly RNA editing. RNA editing is a novel mechanism that regulates gene expression by inserting and deleting uridine residues in mRNAs after transcription, thereby creating translatable messages with proper open reading frames and initiation/termination signals. This phenomenon is crucial for understanding genetic information storage and processing, especially in trypanosomes. The RNA editing process involves a complex interplay of more than 40 proteins, organized into three main complexes: the RNA Editing Catalytic Complex (RECC), the RNA Editing Substrate Complex (RESC), and the REH2C Complex. While RESC proteins facilitate interactions between RECC, mRNA, and gRNA, accessory factors transiently associate with these complexes, impacting the editing of specific mRNAs.

I am specifically examining one RESC factor, RESC10, alongside two accessory factors: KREH1 (RNA helicase I) and KRBP72. Our investigation into KREH1 unveiled that its helicase activity enhances the utilization of initiator gRNAs across multiple mRNAs in Trypanosoma brucei RNA editing.

Additionally, a related area of my research explores how posttranslational modification of RNA binding proteins, such as arginine methylation, modulates RNA processing, stability, and translation in T. brucei. Currently, we are focused on understanding the function of an RNA binding protein, DRBD18, which plays a role in both RNA stabilization and destabilization, RNA export, and translation.

• Laurie Read, PhD

• PhD, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi India