Page 37 - Rappaport Institute Magazine 2024

GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
34-35
Mechanisms and Evolution of Gene Regulation
My lab studies questions that lay at the intersection between Transcriptional Regulation, Developmental Biology and Evolution. Specifically, I ask how genome divergence leads to phenotypic evolution. As most of the phenotypic differences between and within species result from changes in gene regulation, I focus my research on mechanisms and evolution of regulatory sequences of the genomes. We currently address this issue from several complementary angles. First, we seek to elucidate general mechanisms of enhancer function and evolution, such as long-range enhancer-promoter communications and their contribution to active transcription. To this end, we combine cell type-specific 4C-seq analyses with super-resolution live-imaging techniques. Secondly, we aim to uncover gene regulatory networks driving the evolution of complex morphologies. As a model system we study male genitalia evolution in Drosophilids. We have developed a unique approach that combines single-cell genomics and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to identify evolved genes and regulatory sequences and to test their contribution to the evolution of morphology using functional assays. Ultimately, our work will establish a causal link between genome divergence, changes in gene regulatory network architecture, and the morphological evolution of complex traits.
Selected Publications §
ˆ Urum A.*, Rice G.*, Glassford W., Yanku Y., Shklyar B., Rebeiz M. , and Preger-Ben Noon E.§, 2024, A developmental atlas of male terminalia across twelve species of Drosophila. Front. Cell Dev. Biol.12, DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1349275
ˆ Avetisyan A., Glatt Y., Cohen M., Timerman Y., Aspis N., Nachman N., Halachmi N., Preger-Ben Noon E.§ and Salzberg A.§, 2021, delilah, prospero and D-Pax2 constitute a gene regulatory network essential for the development of functional proprioceptors. eLife. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.70833
ˆ Preger-Ben Noon E.*, Sabarís S.*, Ortiz D.M., Sager J., Liebowitz A., Stern D.L. and Frankel N., 2018, Comprehensive analysis of a cis-regulatory region reveals pleiotropy in enhancer function. Cell Rep. 22(11):3021-3031
ˆ Preger-Ben Noon E§, Davis F.P. and Stern D.L.§, 2016, Evolved repression overcomes enhancer robustness. Dev. Cell. 39(5):572-584
Ella Preger-Ben Noon, PhD
Assistant Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology
PhD, 2009 – Technion, Israel
Grants and Awards
ˆ Israel Science Foundation
ˆ NSF-BSF – in collaboration with Professor Mark Rebeiz, University of Pittsburgh, USA
pregere@technion.ac.il
Ella Preger Ben Noon Lab
The Drosophila shavenbaby gene is regulated by seven embryonic enhancers
Top: Transgenic Drosophila embryo carrying three enhancers of the shavenbaby gene, each driving the expression of a different reporter. Bottom: schematics of the shavenbaby locus, indicating embryonic enhancers (open boxes). Image by Sujay Naik.
Photo: Michal Benedek