Team
RNA, Epigenetics & Stress
Dpt: Signaling through Chromatin
Our research activities
Genome regulation by (hetero)chromatin and RNA.
In our team, we seek to understand the chromatin-associated mechanisms that control genome integrity and gene expression in eukaryotes, with particular interest in the role and mode of action of regulatory RNAs.
We focus on two fundamental cellular processes as model systems: - the process of heterochromatin formation and maintenance, which is critical for chromosome segregation, genome defense, and cell identity, - the process of reprogramming genome expression (including within heterochromatin) in response to environmental or metabolic stress, which is critical for cell adaptation and survival. Both processes are broadly conserved among eukaryotes and share a common set of regulations involving chromatin and RNA.
We explore these processes in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and in humans.
Our studies combine chromatin- and RNA-centric approaches with innovative proteomics, powerful yeast molecular genetics, CRISPR-based genome editing of human cells, genome- and transcriptome-wide sequencing, and state-of-the-art microscopy. This research has the potential to provide general insights into when, where, and how chromatin and chromatin-associated RNA molecules control genome stability and gene expression, and to thereby shed light on fascinating new mechanisms in the fields of RNA and chromatin biology and how their deregulation may be linked to cancer and other diseases.
André VERDEL
Team leader, Scientific manager
04 76 54 94 46
Our research axes
Using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) and human cell lines as evolutionarily distant model systems, we investigate the potentially conserved role, mode of action and regulation of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and their producing transcription in the context of pericentromeric heterochromatin.
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By focusing on nuclear members of the conserved family of YTH RNA binding proteins and the cell response to various stresses, we are investigating the role of transcripts (ncRNAs and mRNAs) and their internal methylation (m6A, which is specifically recognized by the YTH proteins) in controlling gene expression by acting in the environment of both heterochromatin and euchromatin.
Learn moreIn our team, we are using and developing innovative RNA-based technologies for genome editing and for purification and characterization of proteins.
Our major publications
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