Scottish DNA Replication Network

The Scottish DNA Replication Network is an informal alliance of eleven research groups from five leading Scottish universities with shared interests in the molecular, cell and structural biology of eukaryotic and archaeal chromosomal DNA replication. The group will hold its next meeting in Spring 2023.

Network members

Constance Alabert (Dundee) :
Julian Blow (Dundee)
Sara Buonomo (Edinburgh)
Tom Deegan (Edinburgh)
Anne Donaldson (Aberdeen)
Shin-Ichiro Hiraga (Aberdeen)
Andrew Jackson (Edinburgh)
Takashi Kubota (Aberdeen)
Karim Labib (Dundee)
Stuart MacNeill (St Andrews)
Richard McCulloch (Glasgow)
Laura Spagnolo (Glasgow)

Network coordinator

Stuart MacNeill (St Andrews)
Email: [email protected]

Network meeting 2022

About

The 2022 meeting of the Scottish DNA Replication Network took place in The Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

Registration

If you wish to know more about this meeting, please contact the meeting organisers Dr Takashi Kubota ([email protected]) or Prof. Karim Labib ([email protected]).

Programme

09.30 – 10.00 Arrival & meet sponsors in the foyer of the Dalhousie Building

10.00 – 10.10 Opening remarks: Dr Takashi Kubota (University of Aberdeen)

10.10 – 11.50 Session 1 (Session chair: Prof. Anne Donaldson, University of Aberdeen)

10.10 – 10.30 Simone Pelliciari  (University of Edinburgh): Molecular mechanistic insights of bacterial DNA replication initiation

10.30 – 10.50 Marija Krasilnikova (University of Glasgow): Nanopore sequencing and genome assembly reveals compartmentalisation of DNA replication in Trypanosoma brucei

10.50 – 11.10 Catarina Marques (University of Glasgow): The Trypanosoma brucei origin recognition complex incorporates a kinetoplastid-specific subunit

11.10 – 11.30 Cristian Polo Rivera (University of Dundee): Pif1-family helicases define an alternative pathway for CMG helicase disassembly in budding yeast

11.30 – 12.00 Break & meet sponsors in the foyer of the Dalhousie Building

12.00 – 12.50 Session 2 – Lightning talks (Session chair: Dr Tom Deegan, University of Edinburgh)

12.00 – 12.10 Diana Rios Szwed (University of Edinburgh): Probing synthetic lethal genetic interactions of RNase H2

12:10 – 12:20 Richard McCulloch on behalf of Jeziel Damasceno (University of Glasgow): RNase H1 in Leishmania suppresses R-loop mediated DNA replication and limits genome instability

12:20 – 12:30 Jane Wright (University of Dundee): Restoration of chromatin after DNA replication in stem cells and how this is influenced by differentiation

12:30 – 12:40 Vamsi Gali (University of Aberdeen): Insights into the mechanism of nascent DNA protection by budding yeast Rif1

13.10 – 14.40 Lunch in the Jute Café, Dundee Contemporary Arts centre

14.50 – 16.10 Session 3 (Session chair: Dr Sara Buonomo, University of Edinburgh)

14.50 – 15.10 Julian Blow (University of Dundee): The behaviour of Replicon Cluster Domains in early replicating DNA

15:10 – 15:30 Naiming Chen (University of Edinburgh): Nuclear organisation and replication timing are coupled through RIF1-PP1 interaction

15:30 – 15:50 Qianqian Dong (University of Aberdeen): How does the RIF1-Long isoform provide protection against DNA replication stress?

15:50 – 16:10 Lukas Tamayo Orrego (University of Edinburgh): Sonic hedgehog accelerates DNA replication to cause replication stress in cerebellar progenitor cells

16.10 – 16.40 Break & meet sponsors in the foyer of the Dalhousie Building

16.40 Group photograph on steps outside Dalhousie Building

16.50 – 18.10 Session 4 (Session chair: Prof. Julian Blow, University of Dundee)

16:50 – 17:10 Martin Reijns (University of Edinburgh): Transcription-associated mutagenesis by topoisomerase 1 in cancer and the germline

17:10 – 17:30 Ryo Fujisawa (University of Dundee): Multiple UBX proteins reduce the ubiquitin threshold of the mammalian p97-UFD1-NPL4 unfoldase

17:30 – 17:50 Susanne Bandau (University of Dundee): Transcription restart and chromatin assembly

17:50 – 18:10 Takashi Kubota (University of Aberdeen): Genome-wide association of the histone chaperone Rtt106 revealed its function in transcription

18.10 Closing remarks: Prof. Karim Labib (University of Dundee)

Location

The Dalhousie Building is located on Old Hawkhill in the centre of Dundee. The meeting took place in Lecture Theatre 1.

Sponsors

The network is sponsored by SULSA, the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance, a strategic alliance between eight Scottish universities that aims to advance Scotland’s research and innovation in the life sciences.

 

Exhibiting sponsors

Financial support for the 2022 meeting was provided by NovogeneNew England BiolabsThermo Fisher, Integrated DNA Technologies and Promega, all of whom exhibited on the day.

Contact

For further information about the Scottish DNA Replication Network meeting, please email the network coordinator Dr Stuart MacNeill at [email protected]

Network meeting 2019

About

The 2019 meeting of the Scottish DNA Replication Network took place in Lecture Theatre C in the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of St Andrews on Wednesday, May 8 2019.

Registration

If you wish to know more about this meeting, please contact the network coordinator Dr Stuart MacNeill at [email protected].

Programme

09.30 – 10.00 Tea and coffee

10.00 – 10.10 Opening remarks: Stuart MacNeill (University of St Andrews)

10.10 – 11.50 Session 1 (Session chair: Prof. Karim Labib, University of Dundee)

10.10-10.30 Vanesa Álvarez (University of Dundee): Investigating chromatin landscape at origins of replication

10.30-10.50 Olga Murina (University of Edinburgh): Forward genetics in humans: mapping genetic interactions of RNase H2 using genome-wide CRISPR screens

10.50-11.10 Fabrizio Villa (University of Dundee): Taking apart the mammalian replisome

11.10-11.30 Jeziel Damasceno (University of Glasgow): Conditional gene ablation with DiCre and CRISPR/Cas9 reveals the involvement of homologous recombination factors in DNA replication and genome variability in Leishmania.

11.30-11.50 Naiming Chen (University of Edinburgh): Novel approaches to study the role of nuclear architecture in the regulation of DNA replication timing program in mouse embryonic stem cells.

12.00 – 13.20 Lunch and posters

13.20 Group photograph

13.30 – 15.10 Session 2 (Session chair: Dr Shin-ichiro Hiraga, University of Aberdeen)

13.30-13.50 Martin Reijns (University of Edinburgh): Biallelic variants in DNA2 cause microcephalic primordial dwarfism

13.50-14.10 Tom Deegan (University of Dundee): Mechanism of CMG helicase ubiquitylation and disassembly by SCFDia2 and Cdc48-Ufd1-Npl4

14.10-14.30 Yisui Xia (University of Dundee): The TIMELESS-TIPIN complex couples the ubiquitin ligase CUL-2_LRR-1 to the replisome in C.elegans

14.30-14.50 Vladislav Nikolov (University of Aberdeen): Genome-wide chromatin association of the histone chaperone Rtt106

14.50-15.10 Peter Gillespie (University of Dundee): Maximal chromatin licensing ensures complete genome duplication during very short embryonic cell cycles

15.10 – 15.40 Tea and coffee

15.40 – 17.00 Session 3 (Session chair: Dr Takashi Kubota, University of Aberdeen)

15.40-16.00 Stuart MacNeill (University of St Andrews): Essential and non-essential components of the haloarchaeal CMG

16.00-16.20 Chandre Monerawela (University of Aberdeen): Rif1 – a role in protection of stalled replication forks in yeast and humans

16.20-16.40 Lotte Watts (University of Aberdeen): RIF1 in replication stress: the long and short of it

16.40-17.00 Lora Boteva (University of Edinburgh): Replication timing changes in response to replication stress are transcription-dependent

17.00 Posters and informal discussions

18.00 Walk to Forgans St Andrews for dinner

18.30 – 21.30  Dinner

Posters

Diana Rios Szwed (University of Dundee): Investigating the role of FAM111A in DNA replication

Jane Wright (University of Dundee): Impact of chromatin replication upon pluripotency maintenance

Susanne Bandau (University of Dundee): Transcription restart on nascent chromatin

Ananya Kar (University of Dundee): Post S-phase DNA synthesis

José da Costa Nunes (University of Dundee): High resolution mapping via NGS of DNA replication domains at the early stages of S phase

Sean Gray (University of St Andrews): Characterisation of telomeric ssDNA binding proteins in C. elegans

Jonas Kondratavicius (University of St Andrews): Identifying regulators of genome stability in African trypanosomes

Anna Yang (University of St Andrews): Dissecting the structure and function of the DNA polymerase δ subunit PolD4.

Catarina Marques (University of Glasgow): DNA replication in Leishmania – an odd start?

Location

The School of Physics and Astronomy is located on the University of St Andrews’ North Haugh campus, less than 10 minutes from St Andrews bus station (with connections to Leuchars rail station) and is close to the Petheram Bridge car park, with ample free public parking.

Sponsors

The network is sponsored by SULSA, the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance, a strategic alliance between eight Scottish universities that aims to advance Scotland’s research and innovation in the life sciences, and by the Genetics Society.

Exhibiting sponsors

Financial support for the 2019 meeting was provided by New England Biolabs, Cambridge BiosciencePCR Biosystems, Thermo Fisher, Integrated DNA Technologies and Promega, all of whom exhibited on the day.

Contact

For further information about the Scottish DNA Replication Network meeting, please email the network coordinator Dr Stuart MacNeill at [email protected]

Network meeting 2018

About

The 2018 meeting of the Scottish DNA Replication Network took place in Seminar Room 1 in the Medical & Biological Sciences Building (MBSB) at the University of St Andrews on Wednesday May 30 2018, starting at 10.00 (but with tea and coffee available from 09.30).

Programme

09.30 – 10.00 Tea and coffee

10.00 – 10.10 Opening remarks: Stuart MacNeill (University of St Andrews)

10.10 – 11.40 Session 1 (Chair: Anne Donaldson, University of Aberdeen)

10.10-10.25 Federico Tinarelli (University of Dundee): How replication licensing is regulated in G1 and what happens in Meier-Gorlin syndrome

10.25-10.40 Catarina Marques (University of Glasgow): Mapping DNA replication initiation reveals differences in origin usage between the related kinetoplastids, Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania

10.40-10.55 Marcelo Santos da Silva (University of Glasgow): Transcription activity contributes to the activation of DNA replication origins above the minimum required to complete S phase in African trypanosomes

10.55-11.10 Laura Spagnolo (University of Glasgow): Structural studies of an archaeal MCM helicase

11.10-11.25 Martin Reijns (University of Edinburgh): Linking genome instability to innate immunity

11.25-11.40 Olga Murina (University of Edinburgh): Replication-associated damage at genomic ribonucleotides provides a therapeutic vulnerability to PARP inhibitors

12.00 – 13.20 Lunch

13.20 Group photograph

13.30 – 15.00 Session 2 (Chair: Richard McCulloch, University of Glasgow)

13.30-13.45 Tom Deegan (University of Dundee): Reconstituting DNA replication termination with purified proteins

13.45-14.00 Constance Alabert (University of Dundee):  Restoration of chromatin-based information behind replication forks

14.00-14.15 Remi Sonneville (University of Dundee): Destroying the replisome during mitosis

14.15-14.30 Ananya Kar (University of Dundee): Post S-phase DNA synthesis

14.30-14.45 Javier Garzon (University of Aberdeen): Rif1 protects stalled forks from Dna2-mediated degradation.

14.45-15.00 Lotte Watts (University of Aberdeen): Roles of Rif1 splice variants

15.00 – 15.30 Tea and coffee

15.30 – 15.40 Frank Gunn-Moore (SULSA Deputy Director)

15.40 – 17.10 Session 3 (Chair: Laura Spagnolo, University of Glasgow)

15.40-15.55 Dmytro Kompaniiets (University of Glasgow): Structural studies of Okazaki fragments maturation.

15.55-16.10 Catherine Johnson (University of Aberdeen): Why does PCNA accumulation cause genome instability?

16.10-16.25 Lovely Devakumar (University of Aberdeen): Effective mismatch repair depends on timely control of PCNA retention on DNA by the Elg1 complex.

16.25-16.40 Vamsi Gali (University of Aberdeen): Identification of Elg1 interaction partners and effects on chromatin assembly.

16.40-16.55 Jonas Kondratavicius (University of St Andrews): Searching for Trypanosoma brucei DNA replication regulators

16.55-17.10 Jennifer Stortz (University of Glasgow) Trypanosoma brucei ATR: a protein kinase essential for parasite genome transmission, maintenance and host immune evasion

17.10 Informal discussion time

17.45 Walk to Forgans St Andrews for dinner

18.00 – 21.30  Dinner

Registration

The deadline for registration has now passed.

Location

The Medical & Biological Sciences Building is located at the entrance to the University of St Andrews’ North Haugh campus, just 5 minutes from St Andrews bus station (with connections to Leuchars rail station) and is adjacent to the Petheram Bridge car park, with ample free public parking.

Sponsors

The network is sponsored by SULSA, the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance, a strategic alliance between eight Scottish universities that aims to advance Scotland’s research and innovation in the life sciences, and by the Genetics Society.

Exhibiting sponsors

Financial support for the 2018 meeting was provided by New England Biolabs, Cambridge BiosciencePCR Biosystems, Bioline, IDT, Miltenyi Biotech and Thermo Fisher.

Contact

For further information about the Scottish DNA Replication Network meeting, please email the network coordinator Dr Stuart MacNeill at [email protected]

Banner photograph:
Glen Shiel, looking west
©2017 Steve Smart