On Tuesday, October 6, Ángel P. Diz, Associate Professor at the University of Vigo and researcher in the Population Genetics and Cytogenetics Group (XB2, CIM), will present within the Café con Sal program the lecture Herencia biparental del ADN mitocondrial en humanos: qué nos puede aportar la investigación con mejillones marinos?.
Recently, a controversial study was published reporting results that challenge the general rule that the inheritance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in humans (and in metazoans in general) is strictly maternal. At present, more than 100 species of bivalves have been identified, including marine mussels (Mytilus spp.), that follow an unusual model of mtDNA inheritance called Doubly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI), where the inheritance of highly divergent maternal and paternal mitogenomes is the general rule rather than the exception.
These exceptions could be useful for investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying the transmission of paternal mtDNA to the offspring. Although these mechanisms are currently unknown, there have been some interesting advances in this direction with proteomic results that also contribute to this search.
The XB2 group will contribute to these advances through high-throughput genomic and proteomic technologies, thanks to the project “Mitogenómica y mitoproteómica de mejillones marinos con herencia uniparental doble del ADN mitocondrial y diferente trasfondo genético”, funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation. The project, led by Ángel P. Diz and Paloma Morán, has among its objectives to understand the potential involvement of selected mitochondrial proteins in several mussel species in the mechanism of Doubly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI), reproductive isolation, and the influence of DUI on sex determination. The results could be useful for understanding the exceptional cases reported in humans.
During his lecture, the speaker will briefly present the main conclusions of the controversial study in humans and its relationship with the current knowledge on Doubly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI) of mtDNA in mussels, concluding the lecture with a brief description of the general objectives of the National Plan project already underway at the ECIMAT facilities.
The conference will be held virtually and will be broadcast live through the Remote Campus of the University of Vigo. To access, follow the following instructions:
- Click the access URL to the virtual room “S00-Auditorio Principal”: https://campusremotouvigo.gal/access/public/meeting/928607699
- Access as a student using the following password: 6rAsLWyz
- Select the access mode with microphone and keep it muted until the Q&A session.
The presentation will be permanently available on the CIM-UVigo and UVigoTV websites and channels.
