Signaling at a Distance: Cell-Cell Communication in Development and Cancer

Dr. Kornberg’s research has addressed four major biological issues. His discovery and characterization of E. coli DNA polymerase III established the enzymatic mechanism of DNA polymerization in chromosomal replication. His lab’s cloning and genetic characterization of the Drosophila engrailed, cubitus interruptus and hedgehog genes established the molecular genetic basis of developmental compartments and demonstrated the role of compartment borders in the creation of developmental organizers/signaling centers. His lab’s identification of genes required and expressed during the first mitotic divisions of the Drosophila embryo demonstrated that the zygotic genome is activated and is essential for development of the pre-blastoderm embryo. His lab’s discovery and characterization of specialized signaling filopodia (called cytonemes) established that neuron-like synapses effect the transfer of signaling proteins between non-neuronal cells and that cytonemes are essential organelles that disperse morphogen signaling proteins across developmental fields.

Speaker: Tom Kornberg, UC San Francisco