Research will also investigate how the genome structure affects gene expression.
Helicos BioSciences and Uppsala University will together conduct research on how genome structure affects gene regulation within cells.
The Uppsala team will work with Helicos scientists on a plan designed to utilize Helicos’ True Single Molecule Sequencing™ (tSMS) technology to investigate changes in the cell nucleus that occur in the presence of growth factors. This information will help provide a more complete understanding of how structural features of the genome affect gene expression, the collaborators explain.
The research partnership will investigate what happens to the genetic architecture of cells when they are exposed to growth factors. The exposures result in changes at the DNA level in the structure of nucleosomes as well as in transcription factor binding and their role in altering subsequent gene activity.
The Uppsala team will utilize its experience from the ENCODE (Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements) consortium, an international network of research institutions working to identify and characterize all functional elements within the human genome.
