Epigenetic Regulation of Transdetermination in Drosophila Imaginal Discs

• Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Renato Paro
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Entwicklungsbiologie
• Förderung: Förderung von 2008 bis 2015
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 66106608

Tissue regeneration requires considerable remodeling of gene expression patterns in the cells required to restructure the lost parts. Fragmented Drosophila imaginal discs, the primordial structures of the adult appendages, have been shown to regenerate, thus providing a powerful model system to study cell fate reprogramming. Our own studies and studies from others on vertebrate regeneration models have uncovered the involvement of Polycomb group (PcG) proteins-mediated epigenetic remodeling during wound healing and regeneration, suggesting that the underlying mechanisms for cellular reprogramming are well conserved. The aim of this project is to determine how the downregulation of PcG silencing at the wound sites facilitates the reestablishment of cell plasticity for subsequent repatterning and differentiation. During the last funding period, we nave investigated the transcriptome profiles of early regenerated blastema, and found that several signaling pathways are becoming sequentially activated in the blastema in JNK signaling dependent manner. We plan to analyze the epigenome profiles in the blastema to determine i) what the consequences on target chromatin upon relief of PcG silencing are, and ii) how the sequential activation of signaling cascades influence chromatin remodeling. This will allow us to better understand the regulatory network involved in cellular reprogramming during tissue regeneration.

• DFG-Verfahren: Schwerpunktprogramme
• Teilprojekt zu: SPP 1356: Pluripotency and Cellular Reprogramming
• Internationaler Bezug: Schweiz
• Partnerorganisation: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF)