| Medicine home | About | Future students | Current students | Research | Alumni | Contact us |
| Staff (Intranet) | Staff directory | A-Z index | Site map |
| Medicine home | About | Future students | Current students | Research | Alumni | Contact us |
| Staff (Intranet) | Staff directory | A-Z index | Site map |
|
|
Dr Peter BoagLecturer
Telephone: +61-3-9902 9117 Facsimile: +61-3-9902 9223 Office: Room 355, 3/F, Building 76 (STRIP) Email: peter.boag@med.monash.edu.au
About Dr Peter BoagPeter Boag obtained a PhD from Melbourne University in Molecular Parasitology. Peter has spent the last six years in the Blackwell lab at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA where he studied mechanisms of gene regulation in the germlineand early embryo of the model organism C. elegans. Peter is also an Honorary Research Fellow of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Melbourne (where in collaboration with Professor Robin Gasser they investigate the biology of parasitic nematodes of socio-economic importance). Research Focus
Movement of Wild-type C. elegans The Boag lab is primarily interested in understanding how post transcriptional gene regulation influences development and cellular function. In a number of cell types, such as oocytes and neurons, many mRNAs are transcribed but are not immediately translated. Instead, these mRNAs are maintained in a translationally repressed state in predicted RNA-protein storage granules and only become translated upon specific cues. Some of the proteins involved in the storage of oocyte mRNAs are also present in Processing-bodies (P-bodies), recently identified cytoplasmic granules where many mRNA regulatory pathways are present, including decapping- and nonsense-mediated mRNA degradation and small RNA-mediated translational silencing (e.g. micro RNAs). The emerging similarities between germline storage granules and P-bodies suggests that the formation of RNA-protein granules is a conserved and important mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis. We are interested in elucidating the mechanisms governing the formation and function of germline mRNA storage granules and their requirement for fertility and embryonic viability. 
Dissected C. elegans gonads stained for key components of germline Storage granules. CGH-1 (green), CAR-1 (red) and DNA (blue) The C. elegans Model SystemC. elegans is a free-living, non-parasitic round worm that has become an important model organism for the study of a diverse range of biologically important processes of both basic and medical significance. Features that make C. elegans a wonderful research tool include:
Together these attributes have made C. elegans a valuable research tool for analysis of many biological processes such as apoptosis, mechanisms of aging, DNA damage response and gene regulation to name a few. For more about C. elegans see the sites belowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans http://www.wormclassroom.org/intro.html Postgraduate Informationhttp://www.med.monash.edu.au/biochem/phd/ Recent Publications
Boag, P. R., Atalay, A., Robida, S., Reinke, V. and Blackwell, T. K. (2008). Protection of specific maternal messenger RNAs by the P body protein CGH-1 (Dhh1/RCK) during Caenorhabditis elegans oogenesis. J Cell Biol 182, 543-57. PDF Gartner, A., Boag, P. R. and Blackwell, T. K. (2008). Germline survival and apoptosis. WormBook, 1-20. PDF Walker, A. K., Boag, P. R. and Blackwell, T. K. (2007). Transcription reactivation steps stimulated by oocyte maturation in C. elegans. Dev Biol 304, 382-93. PDF Lehtinen, M. K., Yuan, Z., Boag, P. R., Yang, Y., Villen, J., Becker, E. B., DiBacco, S., de la Iglesia, N., Gygi, S., Blackwell, T. K. et al. (2006). A conserved MST-FOXO signaling pathway mediates oxidative-stress responses and extends life span. Cell 125, 987-1001. PDF Boag, P. R., Nakamura, A. and Blackwell, T. K. (2005). A conserved RNA-protein complex component involved in physiological germline apoptosis regulation in C. elegans. Development 132, 4975-86. PDF
Last Updated on 4 December 2008 |
|
