9:00 – 9:45 Registration
9:45 – 10:00 Introduction by the Chair: Paul Bertone, European Bioinformatics Institute , Cambridge, UK
10:00 – 10:30 Talk title to be confirmed
Dr Anna Git, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute (CRI), Li Ka Shing Centre, Robinson Way, Cambridge, UK
10:30 – 11:00 Title to be confirmed
Dr Anton Enright, EMBL - European Bioinformatics Institute, Cambridge, UK
11:00 – 11:10 Speakers photo
11:10 – 11:30 Mid-morning break
11:30 – 12:00 The complex life of small RNA
Dr Eric Miska, Gurdon Institute, Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute,The Henry Wellcome Building of Cancer and Developmental Biology,
Cambridge, UK
icroRNAs (miRNAs) are 22 nucleotide small RNAs that act as endogenous regulators of gene expression by base-pairing with target mRNAs. Here we analyse the function of the six members of the C. elegans miR-51 family of miRNAs (miR-51, miR-52, miR-53, miR-54, miR-55, miR-56). miR-51 family miRNAs are broadly expressed from mid-embryogenesis onwards. The miR-51 family is redundantly required for embryonic development. mir-51 family mutants display a highly penetrant pharynx unattached (Pun) phenotype, where the pharyngeal muscle, the food pump of C. elegans, is not attached to the mouth. Unusually, the Pun phenotype in mir-51 family mutants is not due to a failure to attach, but a failure to maintain attachment during late embryogenesis. Expression of the miR-51 family in the mouth is sufficient to maintain attachment. The Fat cadherin ortholog CDH-3 is expressed in the mouth, and is a direct target of the miR-51 family miRNAs. Genetic analysis reveals that miR-51 family miRNAs act in part through CDH-3 to regulate pharynx attachment. This study is the first to assign a function to the miR-51/miR-100 miRNA family in any organism.
12:00 – 12:30 Micro RNAs in disease and drug discovery
Dr Michael R. Barnes, GlaxoSmithKline Medicines Research Centre, Hertfordshire, UK
12:30 –14:00 Lunch and Poster Viewing
14:00 –15:00 Question and Answer Session
Delegates will be asked to submit questions to a panel of experts. Questions can be submitted before the event or on the day
15:00 – 15:30 To be confirmed
15:30– 16:00 Afternoon Tea/Coffee and Last Poster Viewing
16:00 – 16:30 Connectivty Mapping of small RNAs
Dr Gerome D Breen, Kings College, London, UK
16:30 - 17:00 Chairman’s summing up
