NSF-sponsored workshop: The cross-disciplinary study of post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications: Finding the commonalities of interests, approaches, and future di

Every organism on earth relies on its DNA content (i.e., genome) to direct its life, growth, and development. However, the genome is not the destiny of the organism. For example, caterpillars and butterflies have exactly the same genome, but distinct forms.

The difference can be largely attributed to the other important biomolecules that are encoded by the genome. These biomolecules are RNA and proteins, which can be modified in hundreds of different ways after their synthesis. Recognition of the diversity and complexity of modifications of RNA and proteins has changed how we think about their different functions of these molecules in fundamental ways in both large and small organisms, ranging from microbes to plants and humans.

Understanding how RNA and proteins are modified, and their biological implications is very important in many areas of basic and applied biological and medical research. Improving our understanding will require building community resources, technical breakthroughs, and cross-disciplinary research efforts to achieve cross-cutting advances in RNA and protein biology.

This project will support a virtual national workshop that will bring together 100-150 diverse participants that are actively involved in both the meeting and discussion sessions. In addition, all research talks, and discussion sessions will be open for anyone interested to watch through Zoom. The participants are from many different disciplines and areas, including plant, animal, and human biology, and cover research areas such as chemistry, engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, and systems and synthetic biology.

Keynote talks from leaders, small-group and interactive sessions will facilitate and stimulate researchers to address the following key topics: 1) Successes and failures in RNA and protein modification research in a variety of research organisms; 2) Experimental systems as well as research approaches that leverage all RNA and protein–related scientific disciplines; 3) Possible “rules of life” to guide baseline and comparative questions across the different realms of organisms; 4) Advantages and disadvantages of currently available tools, consortia, and databases; 5) Training needs for researchers capable of contributing to future advancement in RNA and protein biology; and 6) Short- and medium-term research and knowledge goals, noting potential strategies to reach these goals.

In the framework of our current understanding of genetic information flow, post-transcriptional modifications (PRMs) of RNA molecules and post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins are extremely important cellular regulatory moieties. Yet significant gaps remain in the integrated understanding of these two regulatory moieties and their effects on overall cellular metabolism in different biological organisms.

Fragmentated research efforts in different systems (e.g., microbe, plant, animal, and human) and using different approaches and standards, has prevented integrative analyses of different datasets and identification of common principles of PRMs and PTMs. This workshop aims to fill these gaps and advance research from descriptive and specific mechanistic focus towards integration, general theory, modeling and prediction, and global understanding.

Moreover, this workshop will promote studying the functions and mechanisms of the key regulatory modifications, of their roles in cellular signaling and metabolism, as well as their impact on organisms. The workshop will provide significant opportunities for cross-disciplinary interactions to advance the field of RNA and protein biology by identifying: 1) core questions driving/motivating PRM and PTM studies; 2) conceptual and theoretical foundations that provide a useful lens for hypothesis testing; 3) big ideas to drive advances in these areas and increased understanding of the rules of life; and 4) a path forward for collaborative research and synthetic analyses that will further integrate the two closely-related areas of research through multidisciplinary approaches.

Early-career post-doctoral scientists and graduate students will participate in the workshop organization and serve as virtual discussion leaders, providing them the opportunity to network with many of the leaders in these cutting-edge fields. The workshop aims to increase broad participation of underrepresented groups in RNA and protein modification research, and serves as a model for integration of inclusive and interactive online conference opportunities allowing participation from broader audiences.

Collectively, this workshop will identify critical gaps in resources and understanding of PRMs and PTMs across disciplines, and importantly draft a path forward for community-wide collaborative research to advance these important areas of research that affect our understanding of human, plant, animal, and ecosystem biology.

Funding for this workshop was provided by the Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster, Plant Genome Research Program, and Genetic Mechanisms Cluster in the BIO Directorate and the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering Program in the ENG Directorate.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.