Characterization of the chromatin organization response to food deprivation in the intestine of C. elegans (A28*)

• Subject Area: General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 213249687

This project aims at uncovering how food deprivation affects chromatin regulation within a metabolically relevant tissue. By taking advantage of the robust starvation response of C. elegans, we will study how histone modifications, spatial architecture of the genome and gene expression are altered by lack of food, in intestine. We will analyze refed individuals to determine which starvation-driven alterations are reverted and which not, providing insights into the epigenetic determinants of “stress memory”, a phenomenon that allows organisms to respond better to a second stress insult later in life. The genetic manipulation of chromatin factors will allow us to perturb the chromatin response to starvation, thus beginning to unravel the mechanisms and function of chromatin re-organization under dietary stress.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1064: Chromatin Dynamics
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Project Head: Daphne Selvaggia Cabianca, Ph.D.