Mark G. Caprara, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Center for RNA Molecular Biology

Curriculum Vitae

Research:
Catalytic RNAs, RNPs and mitochondrial gene expression

Multi-component regulatory complexes are essential for controlling gene expression both before and after transcription. The formation and destruction of these complexes are the key steps in their function but how these processes are controlled are poorly understood. Our lab studies the assembly of an important group of regulatory complexes called ribonucleoproteins (RNPs). RNPS carry out widely divergent but essential functions in cells such as RNA processing, protein translation, and modulating chromosome structure. Some of the questions we ask are: how do the individual RNA and protein components of RNPs assemble with one another? Is assembly ordered? Is a level of control asserted by assembly proceeding in a cooperative manner such that one component binds only when another is present? How are assembly mistakes corrected and how is premature disassembly prevented? Why are RNA helicases (so-called “molecular motors”) almost universally required for the assembly and disassembly steps? How do helicases engage specific targets in vivo and how is their activity regulated? To address these questions we use budding yeast as a model system and apply genetic and biochemical approaches in the study of mitochondrial RNA splicing, translation and turnover.

 

Selected Publications

Downing, M.E., Brady, K.L. and Caprara M.G. (2005).
A C-terminal fragment of an intron-encoded maturase is sufficient for promoting group I intron splicing.
RNA, 11, 437-446. /

Fernandez, J., Yaman, I., Huang, C., Liu, H., Lopez, A.B., Komar, A.A. Caprara, M.G., Merrick, W.C., Snider, M.D., Kaufman, R.J., Lamers, W.H. and Hatzoglou, M. (2005)
Ribosome Stalling Regulates IRES-Mediated Translation in Eukaryotes, a Parallel to Prokaryotic Attenuation.
Mol. Cell, 17, 405-416. /

Bolduc, J.M., Spiegel, P.C., Chatterjee, P., Brady, K.L., Downing, M.E., Caprara M.G., Waring, R.B., and Stoddard B.L. (2003).
Structural and biochemical analyses of DNA and RNA binding by a bifunctional homing endonuclease and group I intron splicing factor.
Genes Dev., 17, 2875-2888. /

Chatterjee. P., Brady, K.L., Solem, A., Ho, Y., Caprara, M.G. (2003).
Functionally distinct nucleic acid binding sites for a group I intron encoded RNA maturase/DNA homing endonuclease.
J. Mol Biol., 329, 239-251. /

Solem, A., Chatterjee, P. and Caprara, M.G. (2002)
A novel mechanism for protein-assisted group I intron splicing.
RNA, 8, 412-425. /

View complete Publication List