Lead researcher
Professor Jus St. John
Main finding
We have shown using a brain tumour model that the amount of mitochondrial DNA in a tumour cell can impact on the rate of tumour formation and affect which nuclear genes are expressed in the tumours. The changes in gene expression are the result of differences in mitochondrial DNA copy number influencing the DNA methylation patterns of the affected genes.
Centre
Centre for Cancer Research
Research group
Mitochondrial Genetics Group
Journal and article title
Most surprising
Our results show that the interactions between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes are important for cell development and function.
Future implications
When we study disease at a genomic level, we need to consider the impact of both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes.
Disease/health impact
Cancer