Seminar “Transcriptional termination and chromatin silencing”.

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Transcriptional termination and chromatin silencing, a link found through flowering time

Summary of the talk: Transcription has been classically explained as a three-step reaction: RNAPII initiation, elongation, and termination regulated chiefly through transcription factor association. While initiation and elongation have received most of the attention, termination is emerging as a key regulatory step, controlling the fate of the transcript and influencing chromatin silencing. Through the study of the Arabidopsis FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) mechanisms underlying RNA 3’ processing-mediated Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) silencing, a number of factors playing generic roles in RNAPII transcription, pre-mRNA processing, and chromatin modifications were found. Generically, they promoted proximal termination of both FLC and the antisense long non-coding RNA COOLAIR. However, how proximal termination delivers a changed histone environment that enables the PRC2 switch was still enigmatic. By means of Immunoprecipitation followed by Mass Spectrometry, co-IP, 3´mRNA-seq, plaNET-seq, chRNA-qPCR, and ChIP-qPCR experiments we showed that APRF1, homologous to CPF phosphatase module component Swd2/WDR82, forms a CPF-like phosphatase module with LD (Ref2/PNUTS) and TOPP4 (Glc7/PP1) which promotes transcriptional termination. APRF1-dependent RNA processing activities function in the same co-transcriptional pathway as FLD, thus providing the framework to understand how the RNA processing and the chromatin remodeling function together to modify FLC chromatin environment and affect its transcriptional output. This chromatin environment reinforces proximal termination choice so providing the molecular feedback necessary to stably maintain a low transcription state.

 

Eduardo Mateo Bonmatí holds a degree in Biochemistry from the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH; 2012), where he also obtained a Master in Bioengineering (2013). In 2018, after obtaining his PhD, also at the UMH, under the supervision of Professor José Luis Micol, he joined the laboratory of Professor Karin Ljung, where he spent a first postdoctoral period until 2020 at the Umeå Plant Science Centre in Sweden. Between 2020 and 2022, he spent a second postdoctoral period at the John Innes Centre, UK, under the direction of Professor Caroline Dean, a world-class scientist in plant molecular biology. Since 2023, Eduardo has been a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (CBGP), a joint centre of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and INIA/CSIC. Since 2024, Eduardo has led his first research project and a nascent research group at the CBGP

Seminar “Seoul artificial retina project for the blind”

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  • Friday, February 14, 2025, at 12:00.
  • IB Assembly Hall, Vinalopó Building.
  • Campus de Elche de la Universidad Miguel Hernández, España
  • https://bioingenieria.umh.es
The Seoul Artificial Retina Project has been designing artificial retina devices using polymers capable of monolithic, hermetic sealing since 2000. Through over a decade of research, a long-term reliable 16-channel artificial retina device with miniaturized, monolithic packaging using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) has been developed. Successful in vivo tests have also been conducted. However, LCP’s opacity presented a disadvantage in observing bleeding and other observations during surgery. Additionally, the high Young’s modulus and sharp edges of LCP were found to cause continuous damage to surrounding tissues after implantation.
Hence the research team is testing and studying various polymer materials to change the material for system packaging to be transparent and more biocompatible. The current main targets of the research are cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) and perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA). Both materials possess key characteristics such as high transparency and low water absorption rate, crucial for packaging materials. Furthermore, they have relatively superior mechanical properties compared to LCP. The research team has used these materials to create long-term reliable neural electrodes and has conducted ex-vivo tests. Currently, the team is working on system integration to achieve monolithic packaging by integrating wireless power/data transmission coils and application-specific integrated circuits. The artificial retina device under development features subretinal stimulation, 64 channels, and a single pair coil for power and data transmission. In vivo tests are being prepared, and the goal is to conduct acute tests soon.
 
Bio: Dr. Jongmo Seo is in the field of biomedical engineering and ophthalmology, serving as a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU). He holds an M.D. from SNU’s School of Medicine, as well as M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biomedical engineering from the same institution. Since joining the faculty in 2008, Dr. Seo has made contributions to research in neural interfaces, biomedical engineering, and ophthalmology. His major research interest is developing artificial retinas for the blind.

Seminar “Industry interference in alcohol consumption”.

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  • Friday, January 10, 2025, at 12:00 am
  • IB Applied Biology Meeting Room, Vinalopó Bldg.
  • Miguel Hernandez University Elche Campus, Spain
  • https://bioingenieria.umh.es

Seminar “Industry interference in alcohol consumption”. Delivered by : Dr. Francisco Salvador Pascual Pastor (“Unidad de Conductas Adictivas-UCA, Alcoy). For Friday, January 10, 2025, at 12:00h, in the Auditorium of the Institute of Bioengineering (IB), Vinalopó-UMH Building, Vinalopó Campus of Elche, Miguel Hernández University (UMH).

Seminar “Simulating and enhancing prosthetic vision with PRIMA implants”.

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  • Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 12:00h
  • IB Meeting Room, Vinalopó Bldg.
  • Campus de Elche de la Universidad Miguel Hernández, España
  • https://bioingenieria.umh.es

Seminar “Simulating and enhancing prosthetic vision with PRIMA implants”. Given by Jungyeon Park, Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory (Stanford, CA/USA). For Thursday, January 09, 2025, at 12:00h, in the Auditorium of the Instituto de Bioingenieria (IB), Vinalopó-UMH Building, Vinalopó Campus of Elche, Miguel Hernández University (UMH).