The genetic basis of most brain diseases is still unknown. Many dozens or even hundreds of mutations may contribute to schizophrenia, depression or autism. Often we do not even know when and where these mutations act in the brain. The current ignorance in this area limits not only the diagnosis of neuro-psychiatric disorders, but also the therapeutic possibilities. It is therefore one of the dreams of neuroscience to see in real time what genetic changes are happening inside nerve cells, how genes are activated across the brain during development and behaviour and to compare the healthy to the diseased state. This is challenging as it requires two technical breakthroughs: first, labeling the building blocks of genetic material (while not hindering normal cell function) and, second, making the labeled molecules visible in the living brain. Visualisation of transcription (the first step of gene expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA) in living systems has never been witnessed directly. The overall objective of the VISGEN project is to develop a technology to be able to see which genes are active in a living neuron. This multidisciplinary and international project will herald a new era where this idea becomes a regular research tool and translates to a clinical and diagnostic technology in the future. The team will use a unique biotagging platform to develop the technology that is required to interrogate transcription. The effort requires the amalgamation of knowledge from neuroscientists, synthetic chemists, engineers, physicists, analytical chemists, behavioural scientists, laser technology and image processing experts. The consortium combines expertise from fourteen organisations from the academic and business sectors from six countries to build the multidisciplinary team and share the knowledge that addresses and will overcome the task of realising real-time and spatially resolved genetic studies. Real-time visual genetics will transform our understanding of the state-of-the-art and herald transformative changes in the field of neuroscience, and in general life science.
