César Milstein Lecture: Mechanisms driving the rapid evolution of genomes
- 👤 Speaker: David Pellman - Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, Harvard University
- 📅 Date & Time: Thursday 24 April 2025, 10:00 - 11:00
- 📍 Venue: In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/97042445746?pwd=rjwSiStXxjdk1Q2tPOdRnqr8aM3qwn.1
Abstract
Genome evolution has long been viewed as a gradual process, with small-scale genetic alterations accruing over many generations. However, it is now appreciated that saltatory mutational events, driving rapid evolution, can be layered onto gradual Darwinian evolution. These episodic events are particularly common in cancer, where they generate highly rearranged genomes. At least some of these processes cause human congenital disease, can be passed through the germline, and may contribute to organismal evolution. My group has contributed to this paradigm by identifying mechanisms and consequences of these catastrophic mutational events, linking them to common errors in cell division. My talk will focus on the mechanism of chromothripsis, a catastrophic mutational process that originates from aberrations in the architecture of the nucleus. I will focus on the processes that fragment chromosomes during chromothripsis.
Series This talk is part of the MRC LMB Seminar Series series.
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- In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/97042445746?pwd=rjwSiStXxjdk1Q2tPOdRnqr8aM3qwn.1
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David Pellman - Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, Harvard University
Thursday 24 April 2025, 10:00-11:00