Satellite DNA – Decoding the genomic repetitions

Abstract :

In recent years, advances in long-read sequencing technologies have made it possible to study the most complex, repetitive regions of the genome. This progress enables the creation of fully complete genome assemblies, which provide an excellent platform for studying the entire repeatome. Satellite DNAs (satDNAs) are tandemly repeated sequences that make up a substantial portion of most eukaryotic genomes and remain one of the least understood genomic elements. Despite their crucial role in genome organization and evolution, much is still unknown about their functions.
In this seminar, I will present our work on two model organisms, the root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) and the flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum). This will include an analysis of their satelliteomes, followed by a focus on centromeric and telomeric regions where we have uncovered unique features that determine their organization, function and dynamics. I will also present our newly developed pipeline, which for the first time enables comprehensive analysis of satDNA elements, arrays and flanking regions giving insights into organizational mechanisms driving satDNA distribution in genomes.

Here are some of her recent publications.

On Tribolium

https://genome.cshlp.org/content/34/11/1878

On Meloidogyne

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44914-y

https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/38/5/1943/6064156

On the SatDNA pipeline they developed

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.09.607335v1