RNA biology

We discovered that RtcB, the RNA ligase that mediates tRNA maturation, is also the 'missing ligase' that mediates the XBP1 branch of the unfolded protein response in metazoans.

We also found that RtcB mutants have dramatically increased axon regeneration, and that this increase is not due to loss of tRNA ligation or the UPR.

Our current experiments are focused on understanding the RNA biology that links RtcB to axon regeneration.