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Michael Culbertson

Professor of Genetics and Molecular Biology

Michael Culbertson
Address:
435B Bock Labs
Telephone:
262-5388
Email:
mrculber@wisc.edu
Research Fields:
Yeast and Fungi
Genomics
Gene Expression

Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City

Postdoctoral Research: Cornell University

Research Interests

Post-transcriptional control of gene expression in yeast

Research Description

I am interested in mechanisms of post-transcription regulation of gene expression. We discovered and continue to study an mRNA decay pathway in yeast known as nonsense mediated mRNA decay (NMD). This pathway requires nuclear and cytoplasmic components. NMD monitors errors in gene expression that lead to premature termination of translatiaon (RNA surveillance). NMD also regulates expression of a subset of several hundred yeast genes many of which are important for the structure and transmission of chromosomes and for cell surface components involved in sensing the extracellular environment. I am also interested in the nuclear RNA/DNA helicase Sen1p, which functions in transcription, DNA repair, and RNA processing. SEN1 is the ortholog of human SETX, which has been implicated in Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Representative Publications

  • Finkel, J.S., K. Chinchilla, D. Ursic and M.R. Culbertson. 2010. Yeast helicase Sen1p performs two genetically separable functions in transcription and processing of U5 snRNA. Genetics, in press, January issue. PMID: 19884310.
  • Zheng, W., J.S. Finkel, S.M. Landers, R.M. Long and M.R. Culbertson. 2008. Nonsense-mediated decay of ASH1 nonsense transcripts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics180:1391-1405. PMID: 18791219.
  • Ursic, D., J.S. Finkel and M.R. Culbertson. 2008. Detecting phosphorylation-dependent interactions with the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase subunit Rpb1p using a yeast two-hybrid assay. RNA Biol 5:1-4. PMID: 18388493.
  • Guan, Q., W. Zheng, S. Tang, X. Liu, R.A. Zinkel, K. Tsui, B.Yandell and M.R. Culbertson. 2006. Impact of Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay on the global expression profile of budding yeast. PLoS Genetics 2:1924-1943. PMID: 17166056.
  • Ford, A., Q. Guan, E. Neeno-Eckwall and M.R. Culbertson. 2006. Ebs1p: a global negative regulator of gene expression controlled by the Upf proteins in yeast. Euk Cell 5:301-312. PMID: 16467471.