CMCB Life Sciences Seminar: Prof. Benjamin Schuster-Böckler, University of Oxford

Host: Anna Poetsch (BIOTEC)

Title: „The mutagenic side-effects of epigenetic regulation”

Abstract:

The Schuster-Böckler group is working to understand the role of genetic and epigenetic changes in cancer initiation, using existing as well as newly generated data. Using the earliest maps of somatic mutations in cancer, we previously demonstrated a correlation between replication timing, chromatin structure and regional mutation rate. The group has since focused on the role of DNA modifications on mutagenesis. We showed that hydroxymethyl-C has significantly lower mutagenic potential than methyl-C. In work that is now in review, we provide evidence that mutations at methyl-C are – at least partially – a direct result of DNA replication errors, upending a decades-old paradigm.