UBC Biotechnology Lab Seminar

Dr. Peter Philippsen of the University of Basl will present a talk titled, “The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii: conserved gene sets but different life styles”, at a seminar hosted by the UBC Biotechnology Lab on Friday, July 23, 2004 from 12:00 - 1:00 in Wesbrook 201. Information about Dr. Philippsen's research can be found in the Biennial Report of his research group.

Following is the abstract for his talk:

To which degree do biological differences of distantly related organisms originate from differences in gene contents? We have chosen two ascomycetes with completely sequenced and annotated genomes to answer this question. One, S. cerevisiae, grows as single cells and is found on surfaces of grapes and fruits. The other, A.gossypii, grows as multinucleated hyphae and is a cotton pathogen.

Sequencing of the seven A. gossypii chromosomes (9MB) revealed extensive synteny (conserved gene order and orientation) with the S. cerevisiae genome indicating a common ancestor. Of the 4720 A. gossypii protein coding genes only 262 lack a homologue in S. cerevisiae. The synteny map based on the A.gossypii gene order consists of 330 clusters with up to 100 A. gossypii ORFs which, with few exceptions, align with two S. cerevisiae genomic regions (double synteny) as recently published (Dietrich et al. 2004, Science 304, 304-307). Implications of this finding with respect to evolution and biology will be discussed.

Morphogenesis and nuclear dynamics are clearly different in A. gossypii and in S. cerevisiae. Several hundred genes have been identified in S. cerevisiae to play a role in these key cellular processes. Surprisingly, for all genes syntenic homologues were found in A. gossypii. Functional studies mainly employing PCR-based gene targeting and video microscopy revealed similarities and differences in cellular roles of syntenic homologous. Several examples will be presented and discussed.

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:15 AM on July 15, 2004