Life Sciences

Regulating Gene Expression

Module code: C7132
Level 6
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework, Computer based exam

This module takes an up-to-the-minute look at the molecular mechanisms controlling RNA expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, focusing largely on gene transcription but also examining RNA processing events in eukaryotes.

We will examine the way in which bacteria control gene expression in response to different environmental cues through precisely coordinated transcription regulatory networks, and investigate the way in which eukaryotic transcriptional regulators control RNA polymerase recruitment and retention and modulate chromatin structure during transcriptional activation and repression.

Understanding these processes and mechanisms is fundamental for the study of health and disease, for example to aid the development of new antibiotics and decipher how gene regulatory networks are perturbed during cancer development.

Module learning outcomes

• Describe the factors and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of transcription, RNA processing and nuclear export.
• Describe the mechanism of translation and how this process is modulated by growth factors, nutrients and in disease.
• Describe the role of non-coding RNAs in gene regulation and the consequences of their deregulation in disease.
• Utilise information extracted from the relevant scientific literature.
• Describe key scientific techniques used to study gene expression and interpret and analyse data obtained using these techniques