GENE REGULATION:

Main goals of the conference

The 2012 Conference on “Gene Regulation: from DNA Sequence to Nuclear Structure” is the closing conference of the FP7 InteGeR Marie Curie ITN (www.integer-itn.eu). The conference aims to address specific aspects of genome regulation and dynamics to stimulate the synthesis of an integrated view of gene regulation in modern biology.

Gene expression is the extraction and utilization of the information stored in DNA in a process that it tightly regulated primarily at the level of transcription. Biochemical, genetic and molecular analyses of limited numbers of genes have provided a basic understanding of transcription, however little is known as to how the linear digital code of DNA is translated in the deployment of complex patterns of gene expression during development, differentiation and evolution. Moreover, the remarkable advances in high throughput technologies and the complete sequences of a number of genomes have provided a superficial overview of how organisms have evolved and how they respond to a constantly changing environment. Despite these significant advances, an integrated view of gene and genome regulation at the DNA, RNA, protein, cellular and developmental levels is still lacking. Furthermore, the functions of extensive noncoding, transcribed regions of the genome are largely unknown. Understanding this level of complexity is essential, especially for the new generation of scientists. Thus, the overall goal of this meeting is to bring together researchers that are leaders in their fields in an attempt to provide an up-to-date synthesis on gene regulation.

The meeting will also highlight cutting-edge, high-throughput technologies applied to understanding gene function in space and time. There will also be several opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions between students, postdocs and science leaders, enhanced by informal presentations by students/postdocs. The InteGeR Gene Regulation meeting will assemble specialists from all these areas and will provide a means for a strong interdisciplinary exchange of ideas at the forefront of gene regulation.