Department of Molecular Biology Seminar Series: A single-molecule understanding of transcriptional bursting

Department of Molecular Biology Seminar Series

  • Datum: 03.06.2021
  • Uhrzeit: 13:00 - 14:00
  • Vortragende(r): Tineke Lenstra
  • Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam
  • Ort: Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie (MPIBPC)
  • Raum: Tower IV, Seminar Room, 2nd Floor
  • Gastgeber: Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer
  • Kontakt: office.cramer@mpibpc.mpg.de
Gene expression is tightly regulated to ensure that genes are transcribed in the right cell at the right time. Single-cell studies have shown that cells in a population can show considerable heterogeneity in gene expression, and that even at steady state concentrations of individual RNAs and proteins randomly fluctuate from one moment to the next. This stochastic heterogeneity can influence essential cell-fate decisions. We use cutting-edge single-molecule imaging approaches to visualise transcription fluctuation in living cells, in order to understand the mechanisms and regulation of transcription dynamics in single cells. For many genes, we and others have found that transcription occurs in bursts, with periods of gene activity followed by periods of inactivity. Transcriptional bursting is a conserved property that occurs from bacteria to yeast to human cells, but its origin and regulators remain largely unknown. In this talk, I will focus on how transcriptional bursting in yeast is regulated by transcriptional activators and nucleosomes.
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