Research in the Carrington lab focuses on RNA-mediated regulation and silencing of genomes, genes and viruses. This lab focuses on the biogenesis, functions, and evolution of small RNA-directed silencing pathways in multicellular eukaryotes. Small RNA-based silencing serves a regulatory mechanism during growth and development and in response to stress. It also functions as a transposon and repeat silencing mechanism, and as an antiviral response in plants and some animals. The Carrington lab uses a combination of genetics, genomics, computation and other approaches to address fundamental mechanistic problems using model systems, such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon, but it also seeks to develop tools and approaches that have practical relevance. The lab is committed to the development of quantitative methods for mapping and quantifying high-throughput sequencing (HTS)-derived small RNA data, and to making these data available to the public through accessible, useful databases.