# Understanding Complex Gene Editing Systems and RNA Biology in Oxytricha

> **NIH NIH R35** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2021 · $724,888

## Abstract

Understanding Complex Gene Editing Systems and RNA Biology in Oxytricha
Project Summary/Abstract:
 The PI's lab studies novel genetic systems in microbial eukaryotes, bringing a strongly molecular and
mechanistic approach to understanding genome evolution and diversity. The surprisingly sophisticated
variations on DNA and RNA processing in microbial eukaryotes display a wide range of genome architectures
and genetic systems. Some pathways erode the notions of a gene (e.g. scrambled genes and RNA editing)
and even Mendelian inheritance, reminding us that a genome sequence can be a far cry from knowledge of
its products. Genome rearrangements occur in diverse organisms, and contribute to many human diseases,
especially cancer—a disease of the genome, but the extreme level of programmed DNA rearrangements and
dependence on chromosomal rearrangements for correct development in the ciliate Oxytricha make it an
ideal model system to study genome remodeling and the roles of RNA in epigenetic control of this process.
The proposed research will focus on understanding the molecular mechanism and evolutionary origin of this
remarkable phenomenon. Goals for the next five years include obtaining a more detailed understanding of
the interactions between small and long noncoding RNAs, both with each other and together with the
rearranging genome. Tools from molecular genetics, RNA biochemistry, and chromatin biology provide the
platform for functional studies, while comparative genomics of closely and more distantly related species will
provide insight into the evolutionary origins of scrambled genomes and complex genetic architectures in the
Oxytricha lineage, addressing the basic questions of how they rearrange during development and how they
arose during evolution.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10198942
- **Project number:** 5R35GM122555-05
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** LAURA F LANDWEBER
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $724,888
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10198942

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10198942, Understanding Complex Gene Editing Systems and RNA Biology in Oxytricha (5R35GM122555-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10198942. Licensed CC0.

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