“Unconventional Gene Regulatory Strategies Underlie Cellular Change”
Gloria Brar | Berkeley
Meiosis is the conserved differentiation program by which gametes are produced. During meiosis, cells undergo dramatic unidirectional changes in structure and function, but the molecular basis for most such changes, and how changes to distinct cellular structures is coordinated, is unknown. Indeed, little is known about the natural gene regulatory strategies that drive cellular change, in general. The Brar lab uses both systems analyses of global gene expression datasets and classical approaches, which have revealed major surprises in the genes that meiotic cells express and how they regulate these genes. In this talk, I will discuss conserved noncanonical gene regulatory strategies, including strategic production of repressive mRNAs, that allow cells to rapidly change their protein complement during differentiation and environmental change.
