The Gurdon Institute

New cell type in tail regeneration

Researchers in the Gurdon and Simons labs working under Jerome Jullien have identified a new cell type involved in regeneration of tadpole tails. They've named the Regeneration-Organizing Cells for their role in promoting and coordinating new tissue growth after amputation, and hope to find clues in these cells to inform new approaches to regeneration in mammals.

Transmissible RNA pathway in honey bees

The Miska lab's Eyal Maori along with colleagues in UK, Israel and the USA have discovered a pathway by which honey bees share RNA through secretion and ingestion of worker and royal jellies, offering a promising route for administering bee 'vaccines'. In addition, the researchers identified a specific protein in royal jelly that binds and protects the RNA in granules while outside the body.

Kouzarides Wiese Epigen Chrom citrullination

HP1 citrullination during ES cell differentiation

The Kouzarides lab and colleagues examined how heterochromatin is established in differentiating ES cells. They find that HP1g is citrullinated in undifferentiated cells, which affects its binding to heterochromatin. As cells differentiate, HP1g citrullination is reduced and heterochromatin is established.

RNA modification pathway affects cancer cell migration

Pandolfini, Barbieri and colleagues have characterised an 'epitranscriptomic' pathway with effects on lung cancer cell behaviour in vitro. They developed a technique to precisely locate which guanosine on a micro RNA called let-7 was modified with a methyl group, regulating its processing and downstream action to suppress cell migration.

Methylation of deoxyadenosine is precise and consistent in human genome

A novel DNA modification, N-6 methylated deoxyadenosine (m6dA), was recently discovered in animal and human genomes, and has been implicated in disease. Now the Gurdon lab's Koziol et al. identify m6dA sites at the nucleotide level. They find that the m6dA mark occurs consistently at precise locations in the human genome, suggesting that these marks are also precisely inherited in humans.

Brain location determines stem cell activation speed

Otsuki and Brand reveal that stem cells activate rapidly or slowly depending on where they reside in the brain. G2 quiescent stem cells, which activate first and have high regenerative potential, reside primarily in ventral brain regions. G0 quiescent stem cells are more numerous in the dorsal brain. This is an important consideration in designing regenerative therapies.

The important stuff behind the scenes

The Building & Services team feature in our latest video, giving a glimpse of some of the activities that go on every day behind the scenes to keep the labs running smoothly. Jess Meyer, our Core Technical Co-ordinator, explains what is involved and why a purpose-built research building is very different from an office block.

Science in your ears!

Listen to former Brand lab member Leo Otsuki hitting the airwaves on Friday 10th May at 6pm, when he is interviewed on Cambridge FM’s ‘Us and STEMM” science channel. He discusses his two most recent publications on neural stem cells.

Tune in or catch up

The frog room: our source of eggs

Our latest video is out! Hear from our aquatics services manager about the joys of looking after African Clawed Frogs in order to supply eggs for research in several Gurdon Institute labs.

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Hansong Ma and her 3-parent flies

Hansong Ma joins our previous line-up of group leaders to explain her research in this short video. She uses 'three-parent' flies to research how DNA specific to mitochondria is transmitted from one generation to the next, with effects on ageing, longevity and fertility. This work can also improve our understanding of human mitochondrial diseases.

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What is genomic imprinting? Azim Surani explains

Azim Surani discovered and named the phenomenon of genomic imprinting in the 1980s. In our video he describes what led to this research, and his subsequent findings, which kick-started the field of epigenetics.

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