Dr. Onur Başak

Guest Speaker:

Dr. Onur Başak

Chromatin plasticity drives directionality and emergence of cellular identity in cortical development

How does a single cell generate the diversity of neurons and glia that make up the brain? We show that during corticogenesis, genome–lamina organization undergoes major reorganization, especially at long neuronal genes linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. These genes often detach from the lamina before they are switched on, suggesting lamina disengagement is an early step in their activation. We further identify MeCP2, the gene mutated in Rett syndrome, as a candidate regulator of this process, linking spatial genome dynamics to disease-relevant mechanisms. Together, these findings reveal how epigenetic regulation and nuclear architecture provide directionality to brain development and its disorders.