Craig Kaplan

Biography

Craig Kaplan, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics,Texas A&M University, USA. Announcement:He will take outstanding candidates under consideration for positions. Please contact Craig Kaplan cdkaplan @ tamu.edu for more information. Undergraduates interested in the Kaplan Lab should have the following qualities: strong academic record, desire for research experience, and a great attitude.

Research Interest

Overview of Kaplan Lab research: Mechanism and regulation of transcription by RNA Polymerase II Control of gene expression in eukaryotes relies on complex regulatory machinery dedicated to proper transcription by RNA Polymerase II (Pol II). My lab focuses on the mechanism and regulation of Pol II enzymatic activity and how it can impact all three phases of transcription: initiation, elongation, and termination. Appropriate regulation of transcription is critical for cellular and organismal development, and is also essential for the prevention of disease states such as cancer. We study Pol II regulation using the model organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast). This single-celled organism is amenable to genetic, biochemical, genomic and high-throughput approaches, thus we are able to approach mechanism in vivo and in vitro.  Control of transcription start site selection by RNA polymerase II A major interest in the Kaplan lab are the mechanisms by which transcription starts sites (TSSs) are specified in Pol II transcription. In the budding yeast S. cerevisiae, a scanning mechanisms operates whereby Pol II surveys sequence in the start region in an upstream to downstream fashion (relative to the direction of transcription). This process is sensitive to Pol II catalytic efficiency and can be influenced by DNA sequence. What are the rules and how does initiation interface with chromatin structure? How are scanning and initiation coupled and uncoupled?