MIBE Online Seminar: Engineering of a Non-Consumptive Transcriptomics Approach via Vesicular Export

Titel: Engineering of a Non-Consumptive Transcriptomics Approach via Vesicular Export

Sprecher: Julian Geilenkeuser, doctoral candidate (Westmeyer Group)

Datum und Uhrzeit: Dienstag, 01. Februar 2022, 13:00 Uhr

Abstract: Cellular behavior and development is largely determined by its transcriptome. Consequently, both monitoring the activity of specific genes as well as transcriptome profiling are critical components of biological research, especially when investigating the molecular mechanisms by which diseases emerge. Unfortunately, current RNA technologies suffer from being either invasive or consumptive, preventing longitudinal monitoring of unmodified genes or the transcriptome as a whole. For that purpose we develop "non-consumptive transcriptomics by vesicular export" (NTVE). With NTVE, we want to enable longitudinal quantification of gene activity as well as characterization of cell states on a transcriptomic level. The principle of NTVE relies on nucleotide secretion and sampling of the culture supernatant. Since there is no endogenous mechanism for that in in eukaryotic cells, a synthetic one has to be implemented. Thus, we utilize lentivirus-derived virus-like particles (VLPs) to specifically target and efficiently package defined populations of various types of (reporter) nucleotides, both episomal and endogenous. Depending on the nature of the nucleotide population of interest, the secretion system is complemented with other modules or methods facilitating nucleotide enrichment, amplification or trafficking.