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CDB Seminar - Professor Oded Rechavi, University of Tel Aviv
04 May 2023, 12:00 pm–1:00 pm
Title: Transgenerational small RNA inheritance in worms
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Michael Wright – Cell and Developmental Biology
Talk abstract: In C. elegans nematodes, dedicated machinery enables transmission of small RNAs which regulate gene expression across multiple generations, independently of changes to the DNA sequence. Different environmental challenges, including exposure to starvation, genomic parasites, bacterial pathogens, and heat stress generate heritable small RNA responses, that in certain cases can be adaptive. Recently we have also shown that even neuronal processes can produce small RNA-mediated heritable responses, and that the decisions that the progeny makes are affected by whether their ancestors experienced stress or not. I will discuss the underlying mechanisms, and the potential of small RNA inheritance to affect the worms’ fate. Lastly, I will examine how these new findings might affect our view of the process of evolution and the limits of inheritance and provide evidence that transgenerational inheritance of small RNAs is possible even in other, very different organisms.
Suggested references:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580722000053
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31178120/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11715-7
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32492404/
Host: Tanushree Kundu
Zoom: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/97532319493
PLEASE NOTE - THIS TALK WILL NOT BE RECORDED
About the Speaker
Professor Oded Rechavi
at Tel Aviv University
Prof. Oded Rechavi’s mission is to challenge fundamental long-held scientific dogmas. He found an exception to the original “Cell Theory”, provided the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited, elucidated an alternative transgenerational inheritance mechanism (that depends on inherited small RNA molecules, not DNA molecules), discovered a mechanism that allows nematodes’ brains to control the behavior of their progeny, discovered a neuronal circuit-level mechanism that explains economic irrationality, and demonstrated that parasites can be genetically engineered to deliver drugs to the nervous system. Recently, Prof. Rechavi utilized genome sequencing to “piece together” fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Prof. Rechavi is an ERC Fellow, and was awarded many prestigious prizes, such as the Schmidt Science Polymath award, the Kadar award, Blavatnik award, the Krill Wolf award, the Alon, and F.I.R.S.T (Bikura) Prizes, and the Gross Lipper Fellowship. Prof. Rechavi was selected as one of the “10 Most Creative People in Israel Under 40”, and one of the “40 Most Promising People in Israel Under 40”.
More about Professor Oded Rechavi