CSB Seminar: Prof. Michael Wilson, The Hospital for Sick Children, Dept of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto

Prof. Michael Wilson
Hospital for Sick Children
Dept of Molecular Genetics
University of Toronto

“Understanding the Human Regulatory Genome with Comparative Genomics”

Abstract:

As exon-based disease gene sequencing strategies give way to whole genome sequencing, the need to interpret the functional relevance of gene regulatory regions will become increasingly important. To test whether evolutionary conservation of combinatorial protein-DNA interactions gives insight into human gene regulatory function, we experimentally determined transcription factor (TF) binding locations of four liver-essential TFs (HNF4A, CEBPA, ONECUT1, and FOXA1) in liver tissue from five species. Indicative of the functional relevance of conserved combinatorial TF binding events, we discover conserved CRMs in the promoters of multiple genes involved in blood coagulation and lipid metabolism pathways that have repeatedly suffered rare, disease causing mutations. I will discuss our ongoing work that suggests that multi-species analyses of experimentally determined combinatorial TF binding will be useful in identifying gene regulatory regions critical for tissue-specific gene control.

Host: Prof. Jennifer Mitchell

Video Conferencing at UTM (DV 4001) & UTSc (MW 229)