The Schedule

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) interact with mRNA to form supramolecular assemblies called messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complexes. This seminar will describe our recent efforts to understand the assembly and dynamics of nuclear mRNP complexes utilizing live-cell imaging and single-molecule assays in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Through a transcriptional gene array system, we identified pioneering assembly factors, including Yra1, Cbp80, and Yhs7, establishing a temporal framework for mRNP assembly. Additionally, a novel single-molecule imaging approach, mRNP-SiMPull, revealed compositional heterogeneity and plasticity in mRNPs, providing a role for Yra1 in mRNP compaction. Together, these findings provide new mechanistic insights into how gene-dependent RBP recruitment shapes mRNP composition and function.

Dr. Scott Pownall, President & co-founder of Open Science Network Society (est. 2015) in Vancouver, Canada, has a life long passion and curiosity for the world around him and this drives his diverse interests. He has worked with DNA-based technologies in industry, academia, research institutes and community for 40 years in Australia and Canada. He has engineered microbes, mice, mammalian cells and pigs and provides consulting services in the fields of genetics, bioinformatic, molecular, cellular, and synthetic biology.  Dr. Pownall has been a contributor to the now defunct BioBricks Foundation's FreeGenes program. He is the creator of the Open Yeast Collection and the new Yeast Protein Expression Toolkit, all released under the permissive OpenMTA. The Open Yeast Collection is now in over 50 countries around the world. He is also a collaborator with the UK-based Open Bioeconomy Lab at the University of Cambridge, the Reclone Network and serves actively on the iGEM Engineering Committee.