Date: Wed, May 10, 13:00-14:30
Venue: Room M203, Komaba Open Laboratory, The University of Tokyo
Invited Speaker: Dr. Hiroto Yoshii (Canon Inc.)

Title: High Volatility of Transcript Reaction

Abstract:
We propose a novel hypothesis that transcript reaction itself contains
high volatility and the volatility is a key component for random
fluctuation of gene expression. Experiments supporting the hypothesis
and a model describing the high volatility are disclosed.
Experiments: We count RNA molecules that were synthesized from very low
copy (around 10 copy) of template DNA with T7 promoter and during a very
short period (around 10 minutes). LightCycler was used for precise
measurement of low copy number of cDNA which was reverse transcribed
from synthesized RNA. Independent trials of the identical experiment
exhibit a high variation of RNA abundance; i.e. a long-tailed
distribution.
Model: We presume dynamic change of transcript initiation probability. A
kind of auto catalytic mechanism is introduced through the change of
initiation probability; successive initiation increases initiation
probability, whereas a long interval from the last initiation decreases
initiation probability. The computer simulation of the model indicates
power law distribution of RNA abundance from a low copy template and in
a short reaction time.