Header image  
University of Connecticut
Health Center		  
line decor
  
line decor
 
 
 
 
 
 
Welcome to the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at UCHC

Created in 1998, the Department offers new and exciting opportunities for research and graduate education.

The department now consists of one hundred and thirty individuals including the Chair, faculty, fellows, technicians, administrative staff and graduate students. The Department occupies two floors of the Academic Research Building and laboratory space in adjacent buildings. All faculty members are actively contributing to research and education within the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine.

The Department is also the academic home of the Division of Human Genetics. The Division provides clinical and laboratory genetics services to the northern CT region, and in some instances, throughout the state. Our faculty’s research interests include RNA processing, genetic control of cell growth and differentiation, skeletal development, signal transduction, as well as genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation.

As of June 30, 2006, the Department’s external funding (direct and indirect) totaled over $7.5 Million. In order to fulfill our departmental objectives, we will continue to increase external funding for our current research programs, enhance the national and international reputation of our faculty and their research, and continue the recruitment of outstanding faculty members with new and complementary areas of research expertise. Departmental faculty are playing a key role in the formation of a University of Connecticut Institute for Stem Cell Research.

 
 
 

WHAT'S NEW...
 The Herbert and Esther Bennett Brandwein Award in Genetic Research is announced! Read more>>

 
 
Alu Element-Mediated Gene Silencing

The Alu elements are conserved ~300 nucleotide long repeat sequences that belong to the SINE family of retrotransposons. These are very abundant in primate genomes, with more than a million being present in humans. Since these elements are so highly conserved and are distributed widely throughout euchromatic regions, in many genes pairs of inverted Alu repeats exist and can form duplex structures that serve as substrates for A-to-I editing by the ADAR enzymes. At least
333 human genes contain such repeats in their 3'-UTRs. We have found that a pair of inverted Alus placed within the 3'-UTR of reporter mRNAs strongly represses gene expression, whereas a single Alu has little or no effect. The observed silencing correlates with A-to-I RNA editing, nuclear retention of the mRNA and its association with the protein p54nrb , which binds tightly to edited RNAs. Further, we have found that inverted Alu elements can act in a similar fashion in their natural chromosomal context to silence adjoining genes. For example, the Nicolin 1 gene expresses multiple mRNA isoforms differing in the 3'-UTR. One isoform that contains the inverted repeat is retained in the nucleus, while another lacking these sequences is exported to the cytoplasm. Taken together, these results support a novel role for Alu elements in human gene regulation.

Read the article