Canalization of development by miRNAs

Eran Hornstein
Weizmann Institute

Animal development is an extremely robust process resulting in stereotyped outcomes. Canalization is a design principle wherein developmental pathways are stabilized to increase phenotypic reproducibility. Recent revelations into microRNA (miRNA) function suggest that miRNAs act as key players in canalizing genetic programs. In the seminar I will try to establish that miRNA interactions with the network of protein-coding genes evolved to buffer stochastic perturbations and thereby confer robustness to developmental genetic programs.