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SUMMARY:Slow and Noisy: Developmental Tempo and Gene Expression Kinetics in
  Big Cells
LOCATION:Biology 136
TZID:America/Denver
DTSTART:20231023T080000
UID:2026-10-01-13-50-48@natsci.colostate.edu
DTSTAMP:20261001T135048
Description:In terms of genome size\, humans are ordinary. With an estimate
 d genome size of about 3.2 Gb\, Homo sapiens are comparable to other model
  organisms like mice (~2.5 Gb) and zebrafish (~1.4 Gb). Meanwhile\, salama
 nder genomes span an extraordinary range from 10 to 120 Gb. This has many 
 evolutionary implications. For example\, a positive correlation between ge
 nome size and cell volume has been observed. So called “genomic giantsâ€
 ť not only have larger genomes\, but their cells are larger as well – in
  some cases large enough to be seen with a magnifying glass alone. On the 
 one hand\, surprisingly little is known about the impact of increasing cel
 l volume on random fluctuations\, or noisiness\, in cellular processes. On
  the other\, it is well understood that increasing genome and cell size sl
 ow the tempo of cellular processes\, and of embryonic development\, yet th
 e driving mechanisms remain poorly understood. In my research\, I use math
 ematical models to (i) elucidate the understudied relationship between cel
 l volume and noise\, and to (ii) suggest mechanisms through which increasi
 ng genome size and cell volume act to slow cellular and developmental proc
 esses. The beloved model salamander\, the Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)\, 
 with an estimated genome size of about 32 Gb\, acts as our “genomic gian
 t” in these models. Results suggest that longer transcriptional and nucl
 ear export times act to slow cell and developmental processes down as geno
 me size and cell volume increase. 8:00 am
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