non-coding RNA in brain development, function and evolution

Ascona, Switzerland

Organiser: Other

Website

Attendance type(s): In Person

Event Dates: 20 Oct 2024

Registration Deadline: 20 Jul 2024

The overarching focus of the conference will be on the role of ncRNA in postnatal brain development, specifically in the context of neural circuit development and plasticity across the lifespan. This period is pivotal for the development of cognitive abilities, is significantly prolonged in humans compared to their closest relatives, and is extremely vulnerable to genetic and environmental insults, making it highly relevant for the study of neurodevelopmental and -psychiatric disorders. In a first key topic, recent advances in our understanding of ncRNAs in nervous system evolution will be discussed.  Here, a central theme will be the recently discovered miRNA expansions at several points of the evolutionary tree which coincide with jumps in organismal complexity and cognitive abilities, in particular. A second key topic will be novel classes of ncRNAs. While most efforts have been devoted to the study of miRNAs, other ncRNA classes including lincRNAs and circRNAs have recently entered the stage, mostly due to the development of novel experimental and bioinformatical tools for ncRNA discovery, detection and manipulation. First exciting examples of important contributions of these molecules in neural circuit development, plasticity and animal behaviour will be presented, and future strategies to expand these studies in a more systematic way will be discussed. A specific focus will be on the regulation of miRNA function by these ncRNAs. A third key topic will deal with recently emerging mechanisms that control ncRNA function in an activity-dependent manner, or briefly “who is regulating the regulators”? An emphasis will be on the interactions of ncRNAs with other RNAs and proteins in the context of ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), as well as on post-transcriptional modifications of ncRNAs (e.g., methylation) in response to environmental experiences, such as learning or stress. Finally, the prospect of ncRNAs for the diagnosis/therapeutics of prominent brain disorders will be highlighted with recent successful examples from the areas of epilepsy, major depression and ALS. These major focus areas will be embedded within two plenary lectures from pioneers in the non-coding RNA field, John Mattick and Nikolaus Rajewsky. They will not only give a historical perspective, but also place emphasis on the impact of recent technological advances (e.g., single-cell omics technologies, spatial transcriptomics, gene editing), without which the explosion in the field wouldn’t have been possible.        

Contact Details

Name: Gerhard Schratt

Address: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schratt ETH Zurich – D-HEST Institute for Neuroscience Systems Neuroscience Building Y17 L48 Winterthurerstr. 190 8057 Zurich Switzerland

Phone: 0041446338132

Email: brain.ncRNA@hest.ethz.ch

URL: http://schrattlab.ethz.ch

Location

Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland