{"id":87020,"date":"2025-10-10T16:08:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T20:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/?p=87020"},"modified":"2025-10-10T16:39:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T20:39:06","slug":"gene-boundaries-redefined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/gene-boundaries-redefined\/","title":{"rendered":"Rewriting the Rules of Genetics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Molecular biologists have long believed that the beginning of a gene launched the process of transcription\u2014the process by which a segment of DNA is copied into RNA and then RNA helps make the proteins that cells need to function.<\/p>\n

But a new study just published in Science<\/em><\/a> by researchers at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine challenges that understanding, revealing that the beginning and end of genes are not fixed points, but move together\u2014reshaping how cells build proteins and adapt through evolution.<\/p>\n

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Ana Fiszbein. Photo by Cydney Scott<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis work rewrites a textbook idea: the beginning of a gene doesn\u2019t just launch transcription\u2014it helps decide where it stops and what protein you ultimately make,\u201d says Ana Fiszbein, assistant professor of biology and faculty fellow of computing & data sciences, and one of the lead authors of the study. \u201cFor years we taught that a gene\u2019s \u2018start\u2019 only decides where transcription begins. We now show the start also helps set the finish line\u2014gene beginnings control gene endings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discovery offers a promising new strategy for targeting cancer and\u00a0 neurological disorders, as well as developmental delays and aging. When gene transcription is disrupted or mis-regulated, protein production can become abnormal, potentially causing tumor growth. The understanding that the beginning and ends of genes are connected could allow physicians to redirect gene expression\u2014restoring healthy protein variants and suppressing harmful ones, without altering the underlying DNA sequence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMisplacing a start or an end isn\u2019t a small mistake\u2014it can flip a protein\u2019s domain structure and change its function, too. In cancer, that flip can mean turning a tumor suppressor into an oncogene,\u201d explains Fiszbein. An oncogene is a mutated gene that has the potential to cause cancer by promoting uncontrolled cell growth and division.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur findings show that controlling where a gene begins is a powerful way to control where it ends\u2014and, ultimately, what a cell can do,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe\u2019re not just mapping how genes work\u2014we\u2019re finding new levers to control them. This could become a powerful way to steer cells back toward normal behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers came to this finding using large-scale genomic data and precise gene-editing experiments involving turning a gene\u2019s start on or off. When they changed where a gene started, it also changed where the gene ended. The same gene could produce hundreds of protein versions\u2014sometimes yielding proteins with different, even opposite, functions.<\/p>\n

Christine Carroll, a biology PhD student in Fiszbein\u2019s lab, says the study highlights the power of today’s integrative, data-driven biology \u2014 where vast datasets reveal global patterns of gene regulation, and carefully crafted experiments uncover the molecular mechanisms and key variables that bring those patterns to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis adds a new dimension to gene control,\u201d Carroll says. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about turning a gene on or off\u2014it\u2019s about determining which version of the gene you get.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers discover that the beginning of a gene also determines its end\u2014changing how we understand protein production and disease. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20868,"featured_media":87028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87020"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20868"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87020"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87027,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87020\/revisions\/87027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}