On March 29, 2011, the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) at the University of British Columbia hosted the sixth LSI Café Scientifique. A record number of over 75 interested community members, students and faculty gathered for an informal and participatory dialogue with LSI experts on the topic of “Memories in your Genes?”

The Café featured members of the Molecular Epigenetics Research Group who are studying epigenetic gene regulation. The interactive session was presented by Dr. Carolyn Brown, Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Genetics; Dr. Louis Lefebvre, Assistant Professor in Department of Medical Genetics; and Dr. LeAnn Howe, Associate Professor in Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

There are the some 3 billion basepairs of DNA in each cell of your body, yet cells remember how they have been instructed to act – make an eye or make a kidney. Epigenetics is the study of the identifying marks that are placed on the packaged DNA that are passed on through cell divisions – and sometimes even through generations.

Dr. Brown started the presentation with a brief introduction of terminology and gave an overview of how genes inherit instructions. Drs. Howe, Lefebvre and Brown then presented their epigenetic research stories.

Dr. Howe discussed how HATs (histone acetyltransferases) make the genes stand out in a crowd and how histone acetylation is preserved through DNA replication. Dr. Lefebvre gave an overview of maternal and paternal genes, how the genetic information is written in the DNA molecule, the characteristic number of chromosomes in the cells, maintenance of methylation marks at replication and how some genes become imprinted during evolution. Dr. Brown gave answers to why calico cats are almost always female and demonstrated how the calico cat gets its spots.

A mounted image entitled “Activity of an imprinted gene in a germ cell, the oocyte”, supplied by Dr. Lefebvre, was given away as the door prize to one of the member of the audience.

The LSI Café Scientifique is co-sponsored by the Life Sciences Institute (LSI), Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), Faculty of Medicine Research Office, Faculty of Science and Café Perugia (UBC Food Services).

The next Café Scientific is entitled “E-natomy – How digital anatomy has changed the way we teach and practice medicine” and will take place on May 17th at 6PM. Other future topics include discussions on how streamlining drug development is important, the innovations in safe blood products and blood substitutes, and brain development.