NARILIS lunch seminar | Prof. Anabelle DECOTTIGNIES, de Duve Institute, UCLouvain

We are pleased to invite you to a seminar given by

Prof. Anabelle Decottignies

Group leader at de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, Telomere research group

Her seminar is entitled:

"Telomere length modulation by human mitochondrial genome variants"

Telomeres protect the ends of linear chromosomes and shorten with successive divisions of somatic cells, acting as biological clocks. In germline and embryonic stem cells, telomere shortening is prevented by telomerase and telomeres do not shorten during early stages of embryonic development. Telomerase expression, however, is rapidly turned off during development, such that the telomeres of all somatic cells shorten with age. It is also clear that there is a large heterogeneity in telomere length among individuals of the same age and that differences are already present at birth. If inter-individual heterogeneity is probably largely dictated by genetics, the nature of the genetic determinants remains largely elusive. We obtained reference curves for telomere length in the Belgian population and, using a transmitochondrial cybrid approach, examined whether the mitochondrial genome may contribute to the modulation of telomere length and explain the possible bias towards a stronger maternal influence.

Invited by Prof. Thierry Arnould, UNamur, URBC