Sharma Lab
Principal Investigator: Upasna Sharma
Institution: University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: ✅ Accepting PhD Students ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
ABSTRACT Life begins with the fusion of unipotent sperm and egg, forming a totipotent zygote capable of generating an entire organism. The mechanisms governing totipotency during preimplantation development remain poorly understood. RNA modifications, such as methylation, play essential roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Here, we aim to explore the role of a putative RNA methyltransferase in regulating totipotency and early embryonic development. The zygote is initially transcriptionally silent, relying on maternal RNA and proteins. Its genome undergoes transcriptional activation through zygotic genome activation (ZGA), a pivotal process involving two phases: minor ZGA and major ZGA. This transition is characterized by a dramatic increase in gene expression, enabling further embryonic development. RNA modifications, including methylation by METTL proteins, play key roles in gene expression. Analysis of single cell sequencing data from mouse preimplantation embryos revealed that Mettl7a1, encoding a putative RNA methyltransferase, is highly expressed during 1-cell and early two-cell stage, coinciding with minor ZGA. Knockdown of Mettl7a1 in mouse embryonic stem cells (mE…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R21HD120966-01: Regulation of totipotent gene expression program by RNA modifying enzymes (2026)
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