An ambitious EC-funded research initiative on epigenetics advancing towards systems biology

Recent large-scale transcriptome studies have revealed that a major portion of the human genome is being transcribed into RNAs that do not encode proteins. Many of these noncoding (nc)RNAs turn out to be important regulators of a variety of cellular processes. We are interested in fundamental aspects of ncRNAs, including their biogenesis, regulation, structure and function. We have discovered a novel RNA-based strategy for epigenetic programming, showing that ncRNAs are capable of forming DNA:RNA triplexes with regulatory gene sequences, thus serving as binding platforms for chromatin modifying enzymes. Other ncRNAs guide histone modifying enzymes to specific genomic sites, demonstrating that ncRNAs can act as selective ligands for chromatin modifying enzymes. Deciphering epigenetic control mechanisms of gene expression will reveal how epigenetic defects cause human diseases and will be instrumental in facilitating therapeutic strategies in the future.