A KAUST-led research team has observed intergenerational epigenetic inheritance in corals, demonstrating that corals pass patterns of DNA to their offspring. The research, published in Nature Climate Change, shows that corals can adapt to environmental changes and pass those traits on through DNA methylation patterns. This is the first time this process has been observed in animals, previously only seen in plants. Why it matters: This finding could enable biologists to train corals in nurseries to produce offspring better equipped to survive changing marine environments, aiding coral reef restoration efforts.
KAUST's Environmental Epigenetics Program (KEEP), led by Prof. Valerio Orlando, focuses on understanding how cells acquire and maintain memory, particularly in response to environmental factors. The research investigates the role of non-coding RNA and chromosomal components in regulating gene expression beyond the DNA sequence. Epigenetics explains how the same genome can be interpreted differently, allowing cells and organs to adapt to changing conditions. Why it matters: This research could provide insights into how environmental factors impact gene expression and cell function, potentially leading to advances in understanding and treating diseases.
KAUST and the Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism (CEM) at UC Irvine have formed a partnership to advance epigenetics research, focusing on the interplay between genes and metabolism. The collaboration involves researchers from both institutions, including Professors Valerio Orlando and Pierre J. Magistretti from KAUST, and Professors Paolo Sassone-Corsi and Emiliana Borrelli from UCI. The partnership will include an exchange program for students, post-doctoral fellows, and sabbatical professors, as well as joint KAUST-UC Irvine conferences. Why it matters: This partnership enhances KAUST's research capabilities in fundamental cellular processes and positions the institution at the forefront of epigenetics research in the region.
A KAUST team developed piRNAi, a gene-silencing tool in nematode worms using synthetic RNA sequences interacting with the piRNA pathway. They successfully silenced genes involved in sex determination and other functions, demonstrating multiplexed gene silencing. The gene silencing lasted for varying durations across generations, up to six generations. Why it matters: This expands the molecular toolkit for gene manipulation and offers potential therapeutic applications in humans, given the presence of the same gene-silencing pathway.
KAUST Discovery Professor Aranda's team has been researching coral adaptation to temperature and ocean acidification. The research is focused on the transgenerational aspect of this adaptation using controlled environments. The research has been ongoing for the past two years. Why it matters: Understanding the epigenetic mechanisms of climate resilience in corals is crucial for conservation efforts in the Red Sea and beyond.
KAUST held an international research conference on environmental epigenetics in 2017. The conference included presentations by Professor Paolo Sassone-Corsi from the University of California, Irvine. Participants also included KAUST Professor Valerio Orlando, Emiliana Borrelli, Ueli Grossniklaus and Juan Carlos Belmonte. Why it matters: KAUST is positioning itself as a research hub for advanced bioscience.
KAUST researchers developed a statistical approach to improve the identification of cancer-related protein mutations by reducing false positives. The method uses Bayesian statistics to analyze protein domain data from tumor samples, accounting for potential errors due to limited data. The team tested their method on prostate cancer data, successfully identifying a known cancer-linked mutation in the DNA binding protein cd00083. Why it matters: This enhances the reliability of cancer research at the molecular level, potentially accelerating the discovery of new therapeutic targets.
Dr. Mikhail Burtsev of the London Institute presented research on GENA-LM, a suite of transformer-based DNA language models. The talk addressed the challenge of scaling transformers for genomic sequences, proposing recurrent memory augmentation to handle long input sequences efficiently. This approach improves language modeling performance and holds promise for memory-intensive applications in bioinformatics. Why it matters: This research can significantly advance AI's capabilities in genomics by enabling the processing of much larger DNA sequences, with potential breakthroughs in understanding and treating diseases.