Genetic and epigenetic controls governing life cycle transitions in the planktonic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata
Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo (NIB) pripravlja v petek, 26. januarja 2024 ob 13. uri, seminar z naslovom »Genetic and epigenetic controls governing life cycle transitions in the planktonic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata«. Predavala bo dr. Mariella Ferrante Senior Researcher at SZN and Associate to the National Instituteof Oceanography and Applied Geophysics.
Phytoplankton dynamics are regulated by external cues, mainly light and nutrients, as well as by biotic interactions and endogenous controls linked to life cycle characteristics.
With few exceptions, sexual reproduction is an obligate phase in diatom life cycles, required to escape the miniaturization process imposed by the rigid cell wall, as well as to generate genetic diversity. The planktonic pennate diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata, with a heterothallic mating system with two opposite mating types (MTs), represents a model for the study of diatom life cycles. P. multistriata is also a toxic diatom, being able to produce the neurotoxin domoic acid.
Gene expression studies identified genes involved in the response to sexual clues and in the mechanism of sex determination. How exactly sex is determined and what triggers competence for sex after a given cell size is reached are still open questions. To address these questions, we are exploring epigentic controls and are using advanced technologies, such as single cell RNA-seq, for the characterization of MT specific genes and the gene networks in which they participate. I will also present recent results on the exploration of genomic diversity in P. multistriata populations, with a focus on the genes involved in the production of domoic acid.
Seminar bo potekal na Morski biološki postaji, v spletnem v okolju Webex:
Meeting number: 843 8242 4385, Passcode: 556603
