Dear all,
Our next seminar will be given by Prof. Yoav Gothilf from the School of Biochemistry, Neurobiology & Biophysics, the Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University.
Place and time: Biology auditorium, Monday 9/12 at 13:00.
Title: Genetic dissection of the biological clock using zebrafish as a model.
Abstract:
Animal fitness largely depends on its ability to perform certain behaviors and physiological processes at particular times of the daily cycle. Such temporal regulation is mainly the outcome of an internal timing mechanism known as the circadian clock. In fish, and other non-mammalian vertebrates, the pineal gland contains an intrinsic circadian oscillator that drives the circadian rhythms of its hormonal signal (melatonin), and has been considered a key element in the circadian system.
Employing a dominant-negative strategy we generated a transgenic zebrafish line in which the molecular clock is selectively blocked in the melatonin-producing cells of the pineal gland. As a result, clock-controlled rhythms of melatonin production in the adult pineal gland were disrupted and the rhythmic expression pattern of the majority of clock-controlled genes in the adult pineal gland was abolished. Importantly, the amplitude of behavioral rhythms was substantially reduced, but not completely eliminated. Thus, the pineal clock plays a key role in modulating circadian rhythms of behavior, but it is not the only regulatory component. To determine the role of other tissues in the circadian clock system and the hierarchal relationship among them, we are currently employing the same dominant-negative transgenic approach to block the clock at other tissues and cell types.
Gothilf lab website: https://gothilflab.wixsite.com/gothilflab
Looking forward to seeing you all,
Inbal
Zoom link: https://technion.zoom.us/j/91374645319
For inquiries regarding the course, please contact Prof. Dedi Meiri <dmeiri@technion.ac.il>
