Germ Cells are Forever: a lecture by Ruth Lehmann, Ph.D.The lecture will take place on May 22, 2007 at 7 p.m. in the Jurow Lecture Hall, Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East. A reception will follow in the Silverstein Lounge. Abstract: Highly specialized cells, the germ cells, mediate the passage of an individual’s genome to future generations. In contrast to the somatic cells that give rise to specific tissues and organs of our body, germ cells are able to generate a complete organism generation after generation. In most organisms, germ cells are set-aside from somatic cells early during embryogenesis. Subsequently, germ cells migrate through the embryo; associate with somatic gonadal cells and form the gonad. Our long-term goal is to functionally dissect the germ cell life cycle in Drosophila. We are particularly interested in the strategies that establish and maintain germ cells and protect them from following somatic fates. So far studies across species suggest that the germ cell program is regulated predominantly at the level of RNA localization, translation and stability rather than by transcriptional control, which is so important for the specification of somatic fates. We find that lipid signaling plays a critical role for migrating PGCs. Lipid distribution within the embryo and lipid uptake by PGCs provides timing and directionality to PGCs. Finally, our studies support the idea that there is a surprising equivalence among the gene functions that control stem cell potential in germ cells throughout their life cycle and that reciprocal signaling between germ cells and somatic support cells regulates the number of germ line stem cells available to fill adult stem cell niches. The lecture is sponsored by: The Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine at the Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine |
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