Transcription-Replication Crosstalk and Genome Instability
The accurate and complete duplication of the genome is crucial for normal cellular and organismal function. Understanding the mechanisms that protect eukaryotic genomes from genetic and epigenetic alterations is therefore highly relevant to cancer research and cancer therapy. Tremendous progress has been made in the past decades in elucidating the mechanisms that prevent genome rearrangements in response to exogenous genotoxic events. However, much less is known on how cells deal with endogenous processes that undermine genome integrity. Recent advances suggest that transcription and RNA processing represents major sources of genome instability, presumably by interfering with DNA replication. The aim of this conference is to bring together scientists working in the DNA replication, RNA metabolism and chromatin fields to discuss these novel and important issues. These fields are in continuous expansion but have developed separately. There is therefore a need to create synergies between them and stimulate the interest for common scientific views.