CANCELLED - L1 retrotransposons influence neuron development and degeneration
Speaker: Professor Geoff Faulkner
QBI and Mater Research Institute
Brisbane
Title: L1 retrotransposons influence neuron development and degeneration
Abstract: In most mammals, the genomic landscape is dominated by mobile DNA, or "jumping genes". This includes the retrotransposon LINE-1 (L1), which makes up ~20% of the mouse and human genomes. Over the past few years, long-read epigenome and transcriptome sequencing technologies developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) have transformed our ability to study the impact of L1 elements on gene regulation. In this talk, I will present ONT and PacBio data suggesting L1 activity is pronounced in hippocampal parvalbumin (PV) interneurons and midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons, in each case driven by a SOX6-centric transcription factor developmental program. In DA neurons, L1 transcription significantly increases in response to treatment with 6-OHDA, a model of Parkinson's disease, and those cells where L1 expression is highest appear to die first. These results suggest L1 promoter activation is an intrinsic aspect of the development of certain neuronal lineages, depending on SOX protein expression, and may predispose those neurons to degeneration later in life.
About Neuroscience Seminars
Neuroscience seminars at the QBI play a major role in the advancement of neuroscience in the Asia-Pacific region. The primary goal of these seminars is to promote excellence in neuroscience through the exchange of ideas, establishing new collaborations and augmenting partnerships already in place.
Seminars in the QBI Auditorium on Level 7 are held on Wednesdays at 12-1pm, which are sometimes simulcast on Zoom (with approval from the speaker). We also occassionally hold seminars from international speakers via Zoom. The days and times of these seminars will vary depending on the time zone of the speaker. Please see each seminar listed below for details.
