Bähler lab

Gene Function in Ageing Cells Lab

We analyse how conserved but unknown genes function in quiescent, ageing cells. 

Most researchers study well-known genes that function in established processes, while the functions of many other genes remain completely unknown, presenting a bottleneck for biomedical progress. We focus on the cellular roles of ‘priority unstudied’ proteins that are widely conserved from yeast to humans, reflecting over 1000 million years of evolution, but have not been directly studied in any organism. We also dissect the roles of genes that do not code for proteins but produce long non-coding RNAs, which are widespread yet poorly understood regulatory molecules. 

Our findings indicate that many of these unknown genes play ageing-related roles in non-proliferating, quiescent cells, which are much less studied than proliferating cells. Quiescence features reversible arrest in cell growth and division, stress resilience, and reprogrammed genome regulation and metabolism. In humans, the alternation between cellular quiescence and proliferation impacts ageing-related processes, including stem-cell function, tissue renewal and immune responses. So, to better understand ageing, we analyse the functions of these hitherto unstudied genes in quiescent cells.

We use two complementary model systems, fission yeast cells and the short-lived turquoise killifish. Our research involves multi-dimensional genetic/genomic, cellular, computational and molecular approaches to examine how the regulation and function of genes affect the maintenance and traits of quiescent cells. Our research ventures off the beaten track to tackle an important blind spot for biomedical research by dissecting the roles of previously ignored genes, with the potential for discovering new biology relevant to ageing and associated diseases.