RNA, the epicentre of genetic information

Headshot of Prof. John Mattick
Event date: 
Friday, 8 April 2022 - 11:00am
Location: 
Central Lecture Block 6

Prof. John Mattick

School of Biotecnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney

The assumption that combinatorial control by transcription factors and other regulatory proteins is sufficient to account for human ontogeny is incorrect. The human genome contains just 20,000 protein-coding genes, similar in number and with largely orthologous functions as those in other animals, including nematodes that have only 1,000 cells. By contrast, the extent of non-protein-coding DNA increases with increasing developmental complexity, reaching 98.7% in humans. However virtually the entire genome is differentially and dynamically transcribed to produce not only mRNAs but also tens if not hundreds of thousands of small RNAs and long non-protein-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are expressed intronically, intergenically and antisense to protein-coding genes. Most lncRNAs exhibit highly specific expression patterns and subcellular locations. Many have evolved rapidly under positive selection for adaptive radiation and increasing numbers have been shown to have important roles in development, brain function, cancer and other diseases. They function at many different levels of gene expression and cell biology, including translational control, formation of subcellular (phase-separated) domains, and guidance of the epigenetic processes and chromatin dynamics that underpin development. Plasticity on these regulatory circuits has been superimposed by RNA editing, RNA modification and retrotransposon mobilization, especially in primates and especially in the brain. The challenge is to determine the structure-function relationships of these RNAs and their mechanisms of action, as well as their place in the decisional hierarchies that control human development, cognition and disease susceptibility.

Biosketch:

John Mattick is Professor of RNA Biology at UNSW Sydney He was previously Chief Executive of Genomics England, where he developed the 2019-2023 UK National Vision and Plan for Genomic Healthcare. Prior to that he was Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Foundation Director of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland, and Foundation Director of the Australian Genome Research Facility. Professor Mattick has published over 300 scientific articles, which have been cited 83,000 times (h-index 127). His honours and awards include Associate Membership of EMBO, the inaugural Gutenberg Professorship at the University of Strasbourg, the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Lemberg Medal, the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Medal, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Bertner Award for Distinguished Contributions to Cancer Research, and the Human Genome Organization Chen Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Human Genetics and Genomic Research.

Enquiries to: Lawrence Lee (lawrence.lee@unsw.edu.au)

Please RSVP here

Open to: 
SoMS
Event Type: 
Seminar
Contact for inquiries: 
lawrence.lee@unsw.edu.au
Booking deadline: