Andrew Fire
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Fire Lab
Research Interests
Our lab studies the mechanisms by which cells and organisms respond to genetic change.
The genetic landscape faced by a living cell is constantly changing. Developmental transitions, environmental shifts, and pathogenic invasions lend a dynamic character to both the genome and its activity pattern.We study a variety of natural mechanisms that are utilized by cells adapting to genetic change. These include mechanisms activated during normal development and systems for detecting and responding to foreign or unwanted genetic activity. At the root of these studies are questions of how a cell can distinguish "self" versus "nonself" and "wanted" versus "unwanted" gene expression.
We primarily make use of the nematode C. elegans in our experimental studies. C. elegans is small, easily cultured, and can readily be made to accept foreign DNA or RNA. The results of such experiments have outlined a number of concerted responses that recognize (and in most cases work to silence) the foreign nucleic acid. One such mechanism ("RNAi") responds to double stranded character in RNA: either as introduced experimentally into the organism or as produced from foreign DNA that has not undergone selection to avoid a dsRNA response. Much of the current effort in the lab is directed toward a molecular understanding of the RNAi machinery and its roles in the cell. RNAi is not the only cellular defense against unwanted nucleic acid, and substantial current effort in the lab is also directed at identification of other triggers and mechanisms used in recognition and response to foreign information.
The genetic landscape faced by a living cell is constantly changing. Developmental transitions, environmental shifts, and pathogenic invasions lend a dynamic character to both the genome and its activity pattern.We study a variety of natural mechanisms that are utilized by cells adapting to genetic change. These include mechanisms activated during normal development and systems for detecting and responding to foreign or unwanted genetic activity. At the root of these studies are questions of how a cell can distinguish "self" versus "nonself" and "wanted" versus "unwanted" gene expression.
We primarily make use of the nematode C. elegans in our experimental studies. C. elegans is small, easily cultured, and can readily be made to accept foreign DNA or RNA. The results of such experiments have outlined a number of concerted responses that recognize (and in most cases work to silence) the foreign nucleic acid. One such mechanism ("RNAi") responds to double stranded character in RNA: either as introduced experimentally into the organism or as produced from foreign DNA that has not undergone selection to avoid a dsRNA response. Much of the current effort in the lab is directed toward a molecular understanding of the RNAi machinery and its roles in the cell. RNAi is not the only cellular defense against unwanted nucleic acid, and substantial current effort in the lab is also directed at identification of other triggers and mechanisms used in recognition and response to foreign information.
Publications
- Lui WO, Pourmand N, Patterson BK, Fire A "Patterns of known and novel small RNAs in human cervical cancer." Cancer Res 2007; 67: 13: 6031-43 More »
- Fire A, "Gene Silencing by Double-Stranded RNA (Nobel Lecture)." Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2007; More »
- Subramanian S, Lui WO, Lee CH, Espinosa I, Nielsen TO, Heinrich MC, Corless CL, Fire AZ, van de Rijn M "MicroRNA expression signature of human sarcomas." Oncogene 2007; More »
- Parameswaran P, Jalili R, Tao L, Shokralla S, Gharizadeh B, Ronaghi M, Fire AZ "A pyrosequencing-tailored nucleotide barcode design unveils opportunities for large-scale sample multiplexing." Nucleic Acids Res 2007; 35: 19: e130 More »
- Akhras MS, Unemo M, Thiyagarajan S, Nyrén P, Davis RW, Fire AZ, Pourmand N "Connector inversion probe technology: a powerful one-primer multiplex DNA amplification system for numerous scientific applications." PLoS ONE 2007; 2: 9: e915 More »
84 publications: view full list