# Administrative Equipment Supplement for GM135470

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $125,000

## Abstract

Summary
Telomeres of most species are simple repetitive sequences that are maintained by de novo telomere repeat
addition by the ribonucleoprotein telomerase. Small RNAs composed of perfect telomere repeats have been
observed in several organisms, but their functions are not well understood. We discovered an endogenous C.
elegans small RNA pathway that promotes telomere stability in the absence of telomerase. C. elegans small
RNAs that are perfectly complementary to telomeric DNA are very rare, measuring 1 read per 10 million small
RNAs. However, two related Caenorhabditis species, C. briggsae and C. remanei, have telomeric small RNA
levels that are increased by several orders of magnitude. Telomeric small RNAs in all three Caenorhabditis
species are strongly depleted for 5' guanine nucleotides that characterize major C. elegans small RNA species
like 26G and 22G RNAs. Together, these results suggest that telomeric small RNAs have a distinct biogenesis
mechanism and that a dramatic change in their role at telomeres may have occurred during recent
Caenorhabditis evolution. We propose to study the relationship between small RNAs and telomere biology in
these Caenorhabditis species, in an effort to understand what regulates telomeric small RNA abundance, how
telomeric small RNAs are created, and what their functions are. Potentially analogous telomeric small RNAs
have been observed in ciliates and mammals, and we may help to elucidate their biological relevance.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10389062
- **Project number:** 3R01GM135470-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** SHAWN CAMERON AHMED
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $125,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-02-07 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10389062

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10389062, Administrative Equipment Supplement for GM135470 (3R01GM135470-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10389062. Licensed CC0.

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