Laura Lorenzo-Orts

Post-transcriptional gene regulation is essential for many biological processes. During ageing, mRNA and protein levels become progressively decoupled, implicating dysregulation of post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanisms. Identifying these mechanisms and understanding how they become dysregulated are important areas of study.

Our lab focuses on a system in which gene expression is driven exclusively at the post-transcriptional level: early embryogenesis. During this developmental stage, transcription is inactive, and gene expression relies entirely on the regulation of maternal mRNAs. Early embryos therefore provide an ideal system to study post-transcriptional gene regulation, as successful development depends on the precise timing of mRNA translation and degradation. Similar to ageing, early embryos display a poor correlation between mRNA and protein levels. As embryogenesis progresses and the embryo begins transcribing its own genome, this correlation increases.

The goal of our lab is to identify the molecular mechanisms that control the activation, translation and turnover of mRNAs during the earliest stages of embryogenesis. We combine in vivo studies in zebrafish with in vitro approaches, including protein-protein interaction assays and biochemical techniques. The post-transcriptional mechanisms we uncover may be relevant to both embryogenesis and ageing, providing insight into gene regulation at the beginning and end of life.

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