EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Evolution of gene expression noise

Description: Gene expression noise, the variation in gene expression levels among isogenic cells in a shared environment, has been characterized over the past two decades. However, the evolutionary forces shaping expression noise and their consequences remain to be explored. By leveraging the technical ease of single-cell RNA sequencing and the fast genetic manipulation of the Saccharomyces yeasts, we can systematically investigate the evolution of expression noise. In this seminar, I will present my proposed research on (i) elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying the evolution of gene expression noise, (ii) identifying and characterizing gene expression stabilizers, and (iii) testing for genome-wide natural selection acting on gene expression noise.