Andrea Barta Lab

My research interests center on how the structures of RNP complexes relate to their particular function. It is one of the key questions to dissect the contributions of RNA and proteins to the various activities of the RNP particle. Our main focus to date concerns the spliceosome investigating mainly the problem of splice site recognition and how the variability of this process influences gene expression and consequently organ development. A longstanding interest has also been the contribution of the ribosomal RNA to ribosomal dynamics and peptide bond formation. Consequentially, our recent interest has been shifted towards other small non-conding RNP complexes and their influence on gene expression.