Grant: Project Grant

Proteins are the workers of every cell and thus affect all aspects of human health and disease. Hence, deciphering all the proteins produced by an organism is a crucial challenge for biologists. Our genes contain instructions to make proteins, but they must first be copied into molecules called genetic messengers (or RNAs). The region of a genetic messenger that codes for a protein is called an open reading frame (or abbreviated ORF). For many years, scientists have assumed that every human genetic messenger carries only one functional ORF -usually the longest possible ORF. Many also presumed that RNAs copied from genes labeled as "non-coding" or "pseudogenes" did not contain any functional ORFs. Our laboratory has demonstrated that genetic messengers carry several ORFs and thus allow the production of several completely different proteins. The goal of this research project is to create a catalog of the true coding potential of genes and their genetic messengers. This project will not only generate new knowledge on molecular mechanisms, but also new tools. These will be necessary to better understand fundamental molecular and genetic errors linked to diseases, and to develop adequate molecular interventions to correct them.