Laboratory of RNA Biology

We try to understand the basic molecular principles of RNA splicing

+ RNA splicing, + nuclear structures, + spliceosome, + retinitis pigmentosa

David Staněk

Group leader

david.stanek@img.cas.cz

Scientific Career – Milestones

2022: Professor, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague

2014-2015: Visiting Fellow, Yale University, New Haven, USA

since 2007: Research Group Leader, IMG, Prague

2001-2005: Postdoctoral Fellow, MPI-CBG Dresden, Germany

1999: PhD, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague

Splicing complex formation in the context of the cell nucleus

Studying the dynamics of individual components of the splicing complex in living cells, we determined the rate of pre-mRNA splicing in human cells. We have also discovered a novel quality control checkpoint that monitors the formation of the spliceosomal machinery and described new chaperons that help assemble splicing complexes and check that they have been assembled correctly. [pubmed] [doi]

Histone modifications modulate alternative splicing

Using histone acetylation as an example, we have shown that histone modifications affect splice site selection and alternative splicing. This work was one of the first to demonstrate the relationship between chromatin and pre-mRNA processing. [pubmed] [doi]

Mutations in splicing proteins causing retinitis pigmentosa disorder reduce the formation of splice-competent particles

We have mapped how mutations associated with retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disorder in which retinal degeneration occurs, change the behaviour of mutated proteins. We have shown that the majority of these mutations prevent the formation of active complexes that can catalyze RNA splicing. [pubmed] [doi]