# Gene regulatory functions of condensin

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $300,900

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Chromatin structure and organization are critical to establishing developmentally appropriate gene expression
programs for each cell type, and aberrations in these processes lead to developmental abnormalities and
disease. Regulation of X chromosome gene expression in the nematode C. elegans is an excellent model to
decipher the molecular mechanisms that regulate chromatin structure, nuclear architecture and gene
expression. In this organism, a protein complex called condensin binds both X chromosomes of XX
hermaphrodites to downregulate gene expression two-fold thereby equalizing X-linked gene expression
between the sexes. Condensin is best known for its function in mitotic chromosome compaction, but C.
elegans dosage compensation provides us with an opportunity to uncover its interphase roles. Condensin
affects X chromosome structure on multiple levels, including posttranslational modifications of histone,
alterations in chromosome topology and compaction, and tethering the chromosome to the nuclear periphery.
These functions require cooperation with other cellular machinery, such as histone modifiers and proteins of
the nuclear lamina. Recent evidence indicates that condensin also cooperates with the nuclear RNAi
machinery to remodel the X chromosome and repress its genes. The proposed research will examine the
interactions between condensin, nuclear RNAi, histone modifiers, and the nuclear lamina, and define how
these processes cooperate to establish and then maintain repression of the X chromosomes. State-of-the art
superresolution microscopy methods will be combined with genomic methods and bioinformatics to identify
chromosome structure changes that are causally involved in gene repression. Using precise genome editing
techniques, the relative contributions of condensin binding and the other repressive mechanisms will be
uncovered. Condensin mutations have recently been reported in patients with microcephaly and various
cancers. Therefore, findings from this project may become directly relevant to human health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10263216
- **Project number:** 5R01GM133858-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Gyorgyi Csankovszki
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $300,900
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-14 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10263216

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10263216, Gene regulatory functions of condensin (5R01GM133858-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10263216. Licensed CC0.

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