Condensing the Message: How Notch Signaling Forms Transcriptional Hubs to Control Gene Activation

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Carmen Santa Cruz Mateos. Department of Physiology Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge.
• Wednesday 16 July 2025, 16:00-17:30
• in person at Gurdon Institute.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Daniel Sobrido-Cameán.

Developmental decisions rely on cells making accurate transcriptional responses to signals they receive. For example, Notch pathway activity results in rapid transcriptional outputs in the absence of any amplification steps. Local condensates or transcription factor hubs are proposed to facilitate recruitment of key nuclear complexes and their co-factors to promote gene activation. To investigate whether transcription hubs are formed under conditions of endogenous Notch signalling, we combined real-time measurements of Notch transcription-complex enrichments relative to a fluorescently tagged gene locus with quantitative live imaging of gene transcription from two linked loci. An enriched hub containing the co-activator Mastermind (Mam) was formed in a signalling-dependent manner during developmental stages when transcription occurs. Tracking hubs in real time revealed that they are highly dynamic and, when imaged together with transcription in the same nucleus, Mam condensation consistently correlates with the onset and profile of transcription. Manipulations affecting signalling levels had concordant effects on hub intensities and transcriptional profiles, altering the probability and amplitude of transcription. Together the results support a model in which signalling induces the formation of transcription hubs whose properties are instrumental in the quantitative gene expression response to Notch activation.

This talk is part of the Cambridge Fly Meetings series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• Biology
• Cambridge Fly Meetings
• Life Sciences
• Life Sciences
• ME Seminar
• in person at Gurdon Institute
• my_list
• other talks

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.