21.05.19 Sparrows: A new model organism for studying role of small RNAs in inheritance
This study from the Miska lab, with colleagues at Imperial, provides a first reference of house sparrow sperm small RNA as an attempt to uncover their role in the transmission of the effects of paternal age on the offspring.
27.04.19 Discovering gene circuits using machine-learning algorithms
Tom Hiscock in the Simons group applied a computational approach to generate algorithms describing natural gene circuits and for designing circuits in synthetic biology. The work is published in BMC Bioinformatics
13.05.19 Doctorate Honoris Causa conferred on Sir John Gurdon at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa
The Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa confers an honorary doctorate in Translational Medicine on John Gurdon
29.05.19 Bipotent stem cells in embryonic liver give rise to hepatocytes and cholangiocytes
Prior et al. in the Huch and Simons labs use lineage tracing, sc-RNA seq and organoid culture to show that Lgr5 is a marker for a sub-population of bipotent liver progenitor cells
06.10.18 International honour for Tony Kouzarides from learned society in the USA
Senior group leader Prof Tony Kouzarides has been elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
02.04.19 Citrullination of heterochromatin protein 1 gamma diminishes when stem cells differentiate
The Kouzarides lab and colleagues identify citrullination of HP1γ within its chromodomain as a novel post-translational modification in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) that is dynamically regulated during mESC differentiation.
02.05.19 Transmissible RNA pathway in honey bees offers potential route for bee 'vaccines'
Eyal Maori with the Miska lab and collaborators in Israel, the USA and UK show that honey bees share genetic material via their equivalent of mother's milk, allowing spread between colony members. In addition, the scientists identify the chemical composition of an RNA-stabilising protein in royal jelly that protects the RNA when outside the body
25.04.19 m7G is a new RNA-modification pathway with phenotypic effects
The Kouzarides lab identify a METTL1-dependent modification of RNA, N7-methylation of guanosine, as a new modification pathway regulating miRNA structure and biogenesis, with a phenotypic effect on cancer cell migration
06.04.19 Ten years since first ever single-cell RNA seq paper - from the Gurdon Institute
The technique for examining all the gene products in one cell at one timepoint, single-cell RNA sequencing, was established right here at the Gurdon Institute in Azim Surani's lab. The method was published on 6 April 2009; below is the abstract and a recent paper analysing successive developments in the technique.
26.03.19 Identifying locations and homogeneity of N-6 methylated deoxyadenosine
Pacini et al. from the Gurdon lab have mapped the novel DNA modification m6dA at nucleotiode level in the human genome, showing that this low-abundance mark occurs precisely and consistently
21.03.19 Neural stem cell activation speed depends on position in brain
Otsuki and Brand show that in the Drosophila brain, the speed at which stem cells can be activated to start diving depends on their dorsal-ventral location, an important consideration in designing regeneration therapies
18.02.19 Miska lab identify hundreds of new non-coding RNAs and prove biological activity in several
C elegans is the model of choice for identifying long non-coding RNAs and investigating whether their deletion has biological effects. The Miska lab, with the Earlham Institute, find several that affect growth and fertility.
28.02.19 Extending Turing's reaction-diffusion model with mechanics, for robust tissue patterning during development
The Simons lab, with colleagues in France and Austria, devise a new model for tissue patterning, proposing that mechanical forces work in combination with chemical gradients to generate spatial patterns
21.02.19 Miska lab find sex differences in gene silencing by environmental RNA
Using C elegans as a model, the Miska lab and colleagues show clear differences between sexes in small RNA abundance that are associated with trans-generational inheritance
22.02.19 Physical and molecular underpinnings of proneural wave in Drosophila optic lobe
The Simons and Brand labs combine expertise to show that a reaction-diffusion mechanism underlies a travelling wave of gene expression that turns neuroepithelial cells into neuroblasts
11.02.19 Steve Jackson to receive the ARC Foundation's Léopold Griffuel Award
Steve Jackson wins prestigious cancer research award from the Fondation ARC pour la recherche sur le cancer
15.01.19 Dementia mediated by tau mutations shows abnormalities in nuclear membranes
Livesey and Jackson lab collaboration shows that mutations in tau protein underlying frontotemporal dementia result in nuclear membrane dysfunction in neurons, with disrupted nucleo-cytoplasmic transport
11.01.19 Role for RNA-binding protein IMP in the fine control of Drosophila egg chamber development
The St Johnston lab uncover a novel regulatory step in the Notch signalling pathway in follicle cells, whereby localisation of Kuzbanian to the apical domain promotes Notch cleavage, inducing cell differentiation
08.01.2019 Compensating for loss of neurodegenerative disease gene ATM offers insights into cancer drug resistance
The Jackson lab and collaborators have identified mechanisms by which drug sensitivities characteristic of ATM-deficient cells can be counteracted by changes in other genes. These results can help shed light on cancer drug resistance and suggest potential therapeutic targets for the genetic disease, ataxia-telangiectasia.
26.12.18 Lysosome and autophagy defects are causes of neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease
The Livesey lab show that single gene defects in early onset Alzheimer's lead to disrupted lysosome and autophagosome function in human cortical neurons
27.12.18 Cdc45 targets Rad53 to distinct replication complexes in budding yeast
In this Molecular Cell paper, the Zegerman lab present a single mechanism by which a checkpoint kinase targets replication initiation and elongation complexes, which may be relevant to human disease
20.12.18 Regulation of stem cell density in an 'open' niche, by competition for growth factors
The Simons lab with colleagues in Japan show that stem cell homeostasis in the mouse testis is regulated by competition for mitogens
19.12.18 Potential for new eye drop medicine to help Acute Myeloid Leukemia
A new study in Nature Communications describes a novel mechanism required for leukaemia cell survival and highlights the therapeutic potential of SRPK1 inhibition in an aggressive type of AML.
19.12.18 Transcription complex proteins gain novel function to drive genome defence against transposons
In this Genes & Development article, the Miska and Ahringer labs with colleagues in China and Germany show how four proteins with ancestral functions combine in a complex that is essential for production of piRNAs
22.11.18 Role for Notch signalling in neural stem cell state progression in Drosophila brain
The Brand lab publish in Neural Development on the dynamic regulation of Notch signalling in the transition from optic lobe neuroepithelial cells to asymmetrically dividing neural stem cells
15.11.18 Phosphorylation of histone H4T80 triggers DNA-damage-checkpoint recovery
The Kouzarides and Jackson labs tease out the series of biochemical events, including a histone modification, that allows cells to recover from the DNA damage checkpoint
26.10.18 Mapping regulatory elements across the C. elegans lifespan
The Ahringer lab and international colleagues used multiple assays to systematically identify and annotate accessible chromatin in the six C. elegans developmental stages and at five time points of adult ageing
31.10.18 Cell polarisation of fly midgut epithelium provides better model for mammalian epithelia
The St Johnston lab's discovery of the mechanism for epithelial cell polarisation in the fly gut disproves the idea that the same conserved system establishes apical-basal polarity in all epithelia
30.10.18 Long RNA species contribute to intergenerational effects of early life trauma in mice
The Miska lab with colleagues in Switzerland show that early life trauma can cause alterations in long RNA in mouse sperm, and this contributes to transmitting the effects to the next generation
