Scott Devine
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD·Genetics
About 'jumping genes' scattered through the human genome can still copy themselves and insert the copies in new places. LINE-1 (L1) elements are retrotransposons: they copy themselves through an RNA intermediate and paste new insertions into the genome.
- Fields
Genetics
Biology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
retrotransposons
transposable elements
jumping genes
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Build a comprehensive resource of full-length, human-specific LINE-1 (FL-L1Hs) source elements, the retrotransposon copies able to produce new insertions, for studying L1 mobilization in human tissues and tumors.
- Examine the expression and regulation of FL-L1Hs elements that evade repression in somatic (non-reproductive) cells, and determine the mechanisms that let these jumping genes escape silencing.
- Measure the mobilization capacity of individual FL-L1Hs source elements, meaning how readily each generates new insertions, to identify those most likely to mutate tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes.
More about the research
These elements were long thought to be active mainly in the germline, the cells that give rise to eggs and sperm, and silenced in the body's other cells during adulthood. Recent reports show that L1 elements are active in some adult tissues, including the brain and epithelial tumors. This raises the possibility that new L1 insertions help start human cancers by disrupting tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes, genes that normally restrain or promote cell growth.
Why it matters
New insertions of mobile genetic elements can initiate human cancers by mutating genes that control cell growth. Identifying which LINE-1 source elements escape silencing and stay mobile in adult tissues could clarify how some cancers begin. This knowledge may eventually help researchers recognize mobile-element-driven mutations in tumors and understand their role in other human diseases.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Lynn Jorde
University of Utah, UT·Genetics
Test whether a person's germline (inherited) mutation rate tracks their somatic mutation rate, using whole-genome sequencing of blood DNA collected from the same Utah CEPH pedigree members at three time points over 35 years.
Alan P Boyle
University of Michigan, MI·Genetics
Quantify how transposable element activity changes binding of CTCF, a protein that anchors DNA loops, across a population sample of 51 well-studied individuals using computational methods.
Susan Wessler
University of California-Riverside, CA·Genetics
Map the full range of structural genomic variation, including new insertions, copy number changes, presence/absence variants and inversions, created by the Ping/mPing mobile DNA burst in three rice recombinant inbred populations, using long-read DNA sequencing.
The school
University of Maryland, Baltimore: 23 labs on PI Pages, $1.5B a year on research, 79 research doctorates a year.
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