EXTRAORDINARY IBMB SEMINAR, Monday, November 11th 14:30 PM | Dr José F. de Celis

Date: Monday, November 11th | Felix Serratosa room | 11|11|2024

Time: 14:30 PM

Speaker: Dr José F. de Celis
CBMSO-CSIC, Madrid

Title: “Transcriptional regulation by Spalt proteins in Drosophila melanogaster“

Seminar Room: Fèlix Serratosa

Host Researcher: Jordi Bernués

Abstract

The Spalt transcription factors constitute a conserved family of Zn-finger proteins involved in cell fate choices during vertebrate and invertebrate development. Human Spalt proteins are causative to Towles-Brook disease and Okihiro syndrome, and their miss-regulation in multitude of human tumours is a clear sign of poor prognosis. In this talk, I will describe two complementary sides to the transcriptional effects of Drosophila Spalt proteins on its target genes. We find that these proteins can act as canonical transcription factors, acting through conserved binding sites to repress gene expression. On the other hand, we found that Spalt proteins are mostly localised to heterochromatic regions in the DNA, and that in their absence the heterochromatin fails to form properly, leading to DNA damage and activation of a P53-dependent DNA damage response. We will discuss how this role as heterochromatic proteins affects nuclear import of activated ERK into the nucleus, leading to indirect changes in gene expression.

Biosketch

Jose F de Celis did his pHD in the laboratory of Antonio García-Bellido (1985-1989) and expent several years at the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK (1992-1999), in the laboratory of Michael Ashburner. He took a permanent position at CSIC in 1999, and started his research group at the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa. His work has been focused on the development of Drosophila imaginal discs, a model system for epithelial differentiation and patterning, where his group has analysed several genes, transcription factors and signalling pathways involved in imaginal development.