The mechanistic and evolutionary basis of programmed DNA elimination
Beyond mutations, the genetic content of an organism is generally constant across cells throughout development. Programmed DNA elimination (PDE) – a process in which specific cell lineages lose DNA segments or whole chromosomes – represents is a striking deviation to this principle.
PDE is widespread in eukaryotes and plays roles in a variety of cellular processes, including gene silencing, germline differentiation, genome defence, and non-Mendelian inheritance. It manifests in diverse biological contexts, including the formation of germline-limited genomes, meiotic elimination of parental chromosomes, and sex determination via X-chromosome loss.
In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that PDE occurs across a wide range of phylogenetic groups, and involves diverse mechanisms. These findings underscore the overlooked plasticity of genome integrity, and reveal significant gaps in our understanding of why PDE has evolved repeatedly and is maintained across the Tree of Life.
This conference is designed to present the latest research on the mechanisms and evolution of PDE - from the molecular pathways that control genome stability and chromosome segregation, to genomic conflicts and the long-term evolutionary consequences of PDE on population dynamics and species diversification. We also welcome researchers studying related phenomena, such as meiotic drive, B chromosomes, and those that work on the mechanisms and regulation of genome stability, chromosome segregation and germline development.
The meeting will address the following key topics:
- Mechanisms and regulation of genome stability and instability
- Mechanisms of chromosome segregation and missegregation
- Genomic conflicts
- Evolutionary dynamics of programmed DNA elimination
Chairperson
Sandra Duharcourt
CNRS Institut Jacques Monod, 15 rue Hélène Brion, 75013 Paris, France
Phone : +33157278009
E-mail : sandra.duharcourt@ijm.fr
Vice-chairperson
Laura Ross
University of Edinburgh Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Charlotte Auerbach Road, EH9 3FL Edinburgh, Royaume-Uni
Phone : +441316507708
E-mail : laura.ross@ed.ac.uk
(provisional titles)
Peter ANDERSEN (Aarhus Université, Denmark)
Epigenetic regulation of the fungus gnat germline genome
Julien BISCHEROUR (I2BC, Gif-sur-Yvette, France)
A hybrid machinery of repair proteins and domesticated transposases ensures precise programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium tetraurelia
Dmitrij DEDUKH (Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Prague, Czech Republic)
Programmed genome elimination during gametogenesis and after fertilization in hybrid asexual vertebrates
Marie DELATTRE (Ecole Normale Supérieure Lyon, France)
Is programmed DNA elimination in mesorhabditis nematodes a transposon-driven process?
Sandra DUHARCOURT (Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France)
Mechanisms and regulation of programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium
Laurent DURET (LBBE, Lyon, France)
The impacts of programmed DNA elimination on genome evolution in Paramecia
Feng GAO (Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China)
Soma-derived 30nt small RNAs precisely target non-transposon DNA against elimination in Euplotes vannus
Stacey HANLON (University of Connecticut, USA)
B chromosome dynamics in the Drosophila melanogaster germline
Christina HODSON (University College London, UK)
Dynamic evolution of germline restricted chromosomes in sciarid flies
Andreas HOUBEN (Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Germany)
Programmed DNA elimination in plants
Laura KATZ (Smith College Northampton, USA)
Programmed DNA elimination and other dynamic genome processes across the eukaryotic tree of life
Hanna KOKKO (University of Mainz, Germany)
Modelling faster mitochondrial evolution in haplodiploids
Mia LEVINE (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Protein-DNA satellite coevolution preserves genome integrity
Benjamin LOPPIN (Ecole Normale Supérieure Lyon, France)
Mechanisms of Wolbachia-induced paternal chromosome elimination
Kazufumi MOCHIZUKI (Institut de Génétique Humaine, Montpellier, France)
Small RNA-directed programmed DNA elimination in Tetrahymena
Radka REIFOVA (Faculty of Science Prague, Czech Republic)
Programmed DNA elimination in songbirds: mechanisms and evolutionary significance
Laura ROSS (Edinburgh University, UK)
Programmed DNA elimination from soma and germline in insects
Denis ROZE (CNRS, Roscoff, France)
Models for the evolution of paternal genome elimination
Tanja SCHWANDER (Université de Lausanne, Switzerland)
Selfish reproductive strategies in stick insects
Jeramiah SMITH (University of Kentucky Lexington, USA)
Germline restricted chromosomes in lampreys and hagfish
Lewis STEVENS (Wellcome Sanger institute Cambridge, UK)
Programmed DNA elimination was present in the last common ancestor of Caenorhabditis nematodes
Alexander SUH (Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Bonn, Germany)
Evolution and elimination of the germline-restricted chromosome of passerine birds
Eelco TROMER (University of Groningen, Netherlands)
Evolutionary cell biology of chromosome segregation systems in eukaryotes
Frédéric VEYRUNES (Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, Montpellier, France)
Ménage à trois in the African pygmy mouse. A third sex chromosome and a third sexual phenotype
Jianbin WANG (University of Tennessee, USA)
Programmed DNA elimination in nematodes
Notification of acceptance or rejection for the submitted paper will be intimated within 15 working days of abstract submission deadline. If your abstract is accepted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with instructions for joining the meeting.