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
16.10.18 CRISPR screen identifies further genes that regulate mouse germ cell specification
A team of current and former Surani lab researchers apply fluorescent reporters with a genome-wide CRISPR screen to track changing cellular identity in a model of developing primordial germ cells
11.10.18 Scientists watch development of lab-engineered human neurons transplanted into mouse brain
Livesey lab and colleagues' technique for transplanting engineered human brain cells in mice, published in Science, provides insights into Down syndrome, with potential wider application
26.09.18 Role for alpha-ketoglutate in pluripotency and germ cell specification
The Surani lab, with colleagues in Cambridge and Germany, demonstrate a link between epigenetic control of germ cell specification and the mitochondrial oxidative metabolite, alpha-ketoglutarate
25.09.18 The optic lobe neuroepithelium generates neural stem cells over 60 hours earlier than previously thought
Hakes, Otsuki and Brand show that neuroepithelial cells in the Drosophila optic lobe produce previously unidentified neural stem cells during embryonic development
08.09.18 Branching gene expression in response to infection analysed with Gaussian processes
Penfold et al from the Surani lab apply statistical methods to understand patterns in changes in gene expression following perturbations such as infection
10.09.18 New technique reveals how Zika interacts inside cells and could enable new anti-viral therapies
The COMRADES technique, developed by the Miska lab with international colleagues, can screen for host–virus RNA base-pairing and reveal the interacting sequences of RNA in a single experiment. In this Nature Methods paper they apply it to the Zika virus in human cells.
05.09.18 MaTaDa method reveals cell-type-specific transcription factor binding in small numbers of mammalian cells
The Brand and Surani labs combine expertise to apply the Targeted DamID approach to studying binding of mammalian pluripotency factors
13.08.18 Antiviral gene screen in C elegans reveals third mechanism for antiviral defence
The Miska lab, with UK and USA collaborators, developed a system for antiviral gene discovery and identified 3'-terminal uridylation of viral RNAs as a defence mechanism in animals
21.06.18 RNA helicase DDX3X is indirect regulator of breast cancer cell cycle
The Kouzarides lab identify how DDX3X plays oncogenic role in breast cancer cells via effect on expression and downstream function of KLF4
