Chromatin structure and pervasive transcription

The aim of this proposal is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the repression of pervasive transcription and to identify the chromatin characteristics critical for repressing transcription initiation outside of the promoter regions. Chromatin characteristics, such as position, occupancy and turnover-rate of nucleosomes, establish an elaborate genomic indexing mechanism, which defines functional units in the genome. Defects in this process lead to increased pervasive transcription, toxic accumulation of non-coding transcripts and genomic instability. This work aims to further our understanding of eukaryotic genome organisation and may have long-term therapeutic implications for cancer and aging-related diseases.