Date: 2013-10-18

Time: 15:30-16:30

Location: BURN 1205

Abstract:

The expression of a gene is usually controlled by the regulatory elements in its promoter region. However, it has long been hypothesized that, in complex genomes, such as the human genome, a gene may be controlled by distant enhancers and repressors. A recent molecular technique, 3C (chromosome conformation capture), that uses formaldehyde cross-linking and locus-specific PCR, was able to detect physical contacts between distant genomic loci. Such communication is achieved through spatial organization (looping) of chromosomes to bring genes and their regulatory elements into close proximity. Several adaptations of the 3C assay to study genomewide spatial interactions, including Hi-C and ChIA-PET, have been developed. The availability of such data makes it possible to reconstruct the underlying three-dimensional spatial chromatin structure. In this talk, I will first describe a Bayesian statistical model for building spatial estrogen receptor regulation focusing on reducing false positive interactions. A random effect model, PRAM, will then be presented to make inference on the locations of genomic loci in a 3D Euclidean space. Results from ChIA-PET and Hi-C data will be visualized to illustrate the regulation and spatial proximity of genomic loci that are far apart in their linear chromosomal locations.

Speaker

Shili Lin is a Professor of Statistics at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.