Description:

Title: "Single-cell analysis of the causes and consequences of somatic mutation in the human brain."

Abstract: The genome is under constant pressure from environmental and endogenous mutagens. As a result, somatic cells, including postmitotic neurons of the human brain, gain somatic mutations throughout life. We used single-cell genomics to study the rates, causes, and consequences of somatic mutations in human neurons during neurotypical aging and in neurodegenerative diseases, identifying DNA damage and repair pathways involved in generating somatic mutations and classes of genes that show both high mutations rates and transcriptional dysregulation in aging, suggesting a functional link.

Speaker: Michael Lodato, PhD; Assistant Professor; Department of Molecular, Cell, and Cancer Biology, Program in Genome Integrity; Massachusetts Institute of Technology