Bio Physics Seminar: "Discovery of cellular dither pathways"

Date: 
Wed, 31/01/202410:00-11:30
Location: 
Danciger B Building, Seminar room
Lecturer: Leor S. Weinberger, UCSF
 Abstract:
Noise (stochastic fluctuations) in gene expression is often considered detrimental, requiring minimization.  But in engineering, noise is frequently utilized for benefit (i.e., dither). We recently discovered a pathway that amplifies transcriptional noise to increase cellular plasticity and facilitate embryogenesis (Desai et al. Science 2021).  I will discuss the conceptual history and provide the context for this discovery in noise-driven viral bet-hedging decisions (e.g., HIV).  These phenomena reveal a functional role for transcriptional fluctuations, suggesting they may be a feature, rather than a bug, of cellular biology.