Characterizing the gene-regulatory-network controlling neural crest development: from induction to migration

Date

Jan 22, 2024

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Subham Seal

Affiliation

Institut Curie – Research Centre, Orsay, France.

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Host

Claudia Gerri

Description

The neural crest is a multipotent population in the vertebrate embryo, which arises from the neural border, undergoes EMT at the end of neurulation, and migrates to different parts of the embryo. At their final destinations, the neural crest cells differentiate into a host of different derivatives, such as neurons, glia, melanocytes and connective tissue, making the neural crest an important contributor of embryogenesis. Although many genes controlling these different processes have been individually studied, the complete gene-regulatory-network remains to be elucidated. In our lab, through the intersection of different high-throughput techniques like scRNAseq and ChIPseq, not only have we identified potential regulators, but also validated some of their functions on a large scale. In the poorly-studied premigratory neural crest population, we have observed early fate predispositions in the neural crest population, as well as a retention of multipotency characteristics till late neurula stages. Further, at earlier (gastrula) stages, we have also identified novel candidates driving the fate specification of the neural border into the neural crest and the cranial placodes. On the other hand, we also use candidate-based approaches to study the mechanisms of function of the identified genes in greater detail, such as Prdm12, a transcription factor with H3K4 methyl transferase activity. During early neurula stages, Prdm12 restricts the expression of neural crest genes to establish the boundaries of the different ectodermal domains. However, at a later stage, we observe that Prdm12 affects neural crest migration at a later stage through modulating the expression of cadherins and the Wnt pathway. Through my talk, I will present an overview of how we use these multiple different approaches to study the different genes at the scale of a regulatory network.

Last modified: Jan 23, 2024, 7:38:43 AM