Objective
Transcriptional memory offers a mechanism for adaptive response to various types of repeated stimuli. Thus far the mechanisms that govern transcriptional memory are poorly understood, although evidence of its heritability to progeny suggests that they rely on epigenetic cues mediated through chromatin. Furthermore the dynamics of transcriptional memory at the single-cell level are not known, which is key to understanding the regulation of transcriptional dynamics and environmental adaptation. This proposal aims to unravel the mechanisms of transcriptional memory by studying a simple memory model, the inducible galactokinase 1 (Gal1) gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In particular, I will address transcriptional memory at the level of the individual cell and the molecular mechanisms underlying “epigenetic” memory. I will use state-of-the-art live-cell timelapse imaging, microfluidics, and pedigree mapping to study single-cell dynamics of the inheritance of transcriptional memory in yeast cells through division. To elucidate the mechanisms by which transcriptional memory is regulated, I will screen a mutant library for chromatin factors that are potentially implicated in transcriptional memory. By combining these techniques with classic chromatin biochemistry I will unravel the function of the regulators of transcriptional memory. Finally I will establish the biological impact of transcriptional memory by determining whether this memory imparts an advantage on cell survival. Because “epigenetic” mechanisms are highly conserved, my studies will reveal fundamental mechanisms by which memory is maintained within a cell and inherited from an individual cell to its progeny in eukaryotes. This knowledge is essential to understand how cells integrate responses to repeated environmental change and will bring Europe to the forefront of the study of transcriptional memory.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistry
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsmicrofluidics
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Call for proposal
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF
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Funding Scheme
MC-IIF - International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)Coordinator
67404 Illkirch Graffenstaden
France