RNA Innovation Seminar: Gregor Neuert, Ph.D. — Vanderbilt University

The University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine Seminar Series is excited to host Gregor Neuert, Ph.D., for the first talk of the 2024 – 2025 RNA Innovation Seminar Series.

Gregor Neuert, Ph.D.
Associate Professor,
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Biomedical Engineering,
Pharmacology
Vanderbilt University

Date and Time: Monday, September 23 | 4 p.m.
In-person: Kahn Auditorium, BSRB

Virtual: The seminar will be available via Zoom for those unable to attend in person. Click here to register for the Zoom.

Talk Title: “Transcriptional stochasticity reveals multiple mechanisms of long non-coding RNA regulation”

Abstract:
Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are increasingly recognized as being involved in human physiology and diseases, but there is a lack of mechanistic understanding for the majority of lncRNAs. We comparatively tested proposed mechanisms of antisense lncRNA regulation at the X-chromosome Inactivation (XCI) locus. Our single-cell analyses argue against mechanisms that require the Xist or Tsix transcript to bind to each other. Intriguingly, we find that due to stochasticity in transcription, different mechanisms based on the act of transcription regulate Xist and Tsix at different levels of nascent transcription. At medium levels, RNA polymerases transcribe Xist and Tsix on each strand at the same transcription site and deposit significant amounts of the histone mark H3K36me3, which inhibits Xist. At high levels of nascent transcription, many RNA polymerases transcribe Xist or Tsix resulting in transcriptional interference. Therefore, lncRNA expression variability is not just a quirk of transcription but an important aspect of regulation that allows multiple mechanisms to be employed by the same gene locus within the same cell population.

Please visit the Neuert Lab for Quantitative Systems Biology website to learn more about Dr. Neuert and his work.