Abstract

A fundamental question in biology is how cellular processes are so reproducible despite the inherent variations in the chemical reactions governing them. During development of a multicellular organism, precise control of gene expression allows the reproducible establishment of patterns. Our goal is to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for precision in gene expression and to link them to accuracy in cell fate decisions. My team tackles this question using the early development of Drosophila as a model system, during the maternal to zygotic transition. During this critical developmental window, patterns of gene expression are rapidly established with remarkable reproducibility and accuracy. We use quantitative imaging, genetic manipulations, biophysics and mathematical modeling to integrate the dynamic aspects of transcription and translation. In this talk, I will summarize our recent results regarding the control of transcriptional memory and transcriptional bursting by cis-regulatory elements and pioneer factors. I will also present our recent deployment of the Suntag method to monitor translation in living Drosophila embryos, that lead to the discovery of intragenic translational heterogeneities.