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SUMMARY:RNA as the computational engine for  human development and gene-en
 vironment interactions - John S. Mattick\, Institute for Molecular Bioscie
 nce\, University of Queensland\, Australia
DTSTART:20090911T103000Z
DTEND:20090911T113000Z
UID:TALK19129@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Goncalo Castelo-Branco
DESCRIPTION:Bioinformatic\, genomic and experimental evidence all suggest 
 that the genetic programming of complex organisms has been misunderstood f
 or the past 50 years\, because of the assumption - largely true for the un
 icellular prokaryotes\, but not for multicellular eukaryotes - that most g
 enetic information is transacted by proteins. The human genome comprises 3
  billion base pairs of DNA sequence information. It programs the developme
 nt of a precisely sculptured individual of about 100 trillion cells with h
 undreds of different muscles\, bones and organs\, as well as the brain. It
  contains about 20\,000 protein-coding genes\, surprisingly about the same
  number and in large part with similar functions as those in tiny worms th
 at have only 1\,000 cells. On the other hand\, the extent of non-protein-c
 oding DNA increases with increasing complexity\, reaching 98.8% in humans\
 , suggesting that much of the information required to program development 
 may reside in these sequences. Moreover it is now evident the majority of 
 the mammalian genome is transcribed\, mainly into non-protein-coding RNAs 
 (ncRNAs)\, and that there are tens if not hundreds of thousands of long an
 d short RNAs in mammals that show specific expression patterns and subcell
 ular locations. Our studies indicate that these RNAs form a massive hidden
  network of regulatory information that regulates epigenetic processes and
  directs the precise patterns of gene expression during growth and develop
 ment. It also appears that RNA is central to brain development\, learning 
 and memory\, and that animals\, especially primates\, have developed sophi
 sticated RNA editing systems to modify hardwired genetic information in re
 sponse to experience\, that in turn can modulate epigenetic memory\, some 
 of which may be inherited. Thus RNA may represent the computational engine
  of the cell and the major substrate for gene-environment interactions. Mo
 reover\, what was dismissed as junk because it was not understood may hold
  the key to understanding human evolution\, development and cognition\, as
  well as our idiosyncrasies and susceptibilities to complex diseases. 
LOCATION:Biochemistry Lecture Theatre\, Sanger Building\, Tennis Court Roa
 d
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