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Dr Michael Taylor
Darllenydd
Ysgol y Biowyddorau
Trosolwyg
Our research centres on the genetic programs of cell differentiation, the process by which specific types of cell are formed from stem cells or progenitor cells. Cell differentiation programs underpin the production of specialised tissues during animal development and, more generally, their mechanistic principles lie at the heart of much biology, medicine and biotechnology. An in-depth knowledge of these programs is critical for understanding aspects of disease and ageing, and for a range of applications, including stem cell technology and tissue repair. Cell differentiation programs are controlled by proteins called transcription factors that switch genes on and off. A principle focus of our research is how these factors specifically regulate genes. Much of our work uses the classic model organism, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. It has an impressive history in making fundamental contributions to understanding human biology, and moreover allows insights relevant to ourselves to be uncovered relatively rapidly.
Cyhoeddiad
2017
- Taylor, M. V. 2017. Skeletal muscle development on the 30th Anniversary of MyoD. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology 72, pp. 1-2. (10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.11.019)
- Taylor, M. and Hughes, S. M. 2017. Mef2 and the skeletal muscle differentiation program. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology 72, pp. 33-44. (10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.11.020)
2016
- Precious, S. V. et al. 2016. FoxP1 marks medium spiny neurons from precursors to maturity and is required for their differentiation. Experimental Neurology 282, pp. 9-18. (10.1016/j.expneurol.2016.05.002)
2012
- Soler, C., Han, J. and Taylor, M. V. 2012. The conserved transcription factor Mef2 has multiple roles in adult Drosophila musculature formation. Development 139(7), pp. 1270-1275. (10.1242/dev.077875)
2010
- Blanchard, F., Collins, B., Cyran, S., Hancock, D. H., Taylor, M. V. and Blau, J. 2010. The transcription factor Mef2 is required for normal circadian behavior in Drosophila. Journal of Neuroscience 30(17), pp. 5855-5865. (10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2688-09.2010)
2009
- Soler, C. and Taylor, M. V. 2009. The Him gene inhibits the development of Drosophila flight muscles during metamorphosis. Mechanisms of Development 126(7), pp. 595-603. (10.1016/j.mod.2009.03.003)
2008
- Elgar, S. J., Han, J. and Taylor, M. V. 2008. mef2 activity levels differentially regulate gene expression during Drosophila muscle development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105(3), pp. 918-923. (10.1073/pnas.0711255105)
2007
- Liotta, D., Elgar, S., Garvey, C., Han, Z. and Taylor, M. V. 2007. The Him gene reveals a balance of inputs controlling muscile differentiation in Drosophila. Current Biology 17(16), pp. 1409-1413. (10.1016/j.cub.2007.07.039)
2001
- Ruiz-Gómez, M., Coutts, N., Price, A., Taylor, M. V. and Bate, M. 2001. Drosophila Dumbfounded: a myoblast attractant essential for fusion. Cell 104(1), pp. 189-198. (10.1016/S0092-8674(00)00024-6)
2000
- Taylor, M. V. 2000. A Novel Drosophila, mef2-Regulated muscle gene isolated in a subtractive hybridisation-based molecular screen using small amounts of zygotic mutant RNA. Developmental Biology 220(1), pp. 37-52. (10.1006/dbio.2000.9608)
Articles
- Taylor, M. V. 2017. Skeletal muscle development on the 30th Anniversary of MyoD. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology 72, pp. 1-2. (10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.11.019)
- Taylor, M. and Hughes, S. M. 2017. Mef2 and the skeletal muscle differentiation program. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology 72, pp. 33-44. (10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.11.020)
- Precious, S. V. et al. 2016. FoxP1 marks medium spiny neurons from precursors to maturity and is required for their differentiation. Experimental Neurology 282, pp. 9-18. (10.1016/j.expneurol.2016.05.002)
- Soler, C., Han, J. and Taylor, M. V. 2012. The conserved transcription factor Mef2 has multiple roles in adult Drosophila musculature formation. Development 139(7), pp. 1270-1275. (10.1242/dev.077875)
- Blanchard, F., Collins, B., Cyran, S., Hancock, D. H., Taylor, M. V. and Blau, J. 2010. The transcription factor Mef2 is required for normal circadian behavior in Drosophila. Journal of Neuroscience 30(17), pp. 5855-5865. (10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2688-09.2010)
- Soler, C. and Taylor, M. V. 2009. The Him gene inhibits the development of Drosophila flight muscles during metamorphosis. Mechanisms of Development 126(7), pp. 595-603. (10.1016/j.mod.2009.03.003)
- Elgar, S. J., Han, J. and Taylor, M. V. 2008. mef2 activity levels differentially regulate gene expression during Drosophila muscle development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105(3), pp. 918-923. (10.1073/pnas.0711255105)
- Liotta, D., Elgar, S., Garvey, C., Han, Z. and Taylor, M. V. 2007. The Him gene reveals a balance of inputs controlling muscile differentiation in Drosophila. Current Biology 17(16), pp. 1409-1413. (10.1016/j.cub.2007.07.039)
- Ruiz-Gómez, M., Coutts, N., Price, A., Taylor, M. V. and Bate, M. 2001. Drosophila Dumbfounded: a myoblast attractant essential for fusion. Cell 104(1), pp. 189-198. (10.1016/S0092-8674(00)00024-6)
- Taylor, M. V. 2000. A Novel Drosophila, mef2-Regulated muscle gene isolated in a subtractive hybridisation-based molecular screen using small amounts of zygotic mutant RNA. Developmental Biology 220(1), pp. 37-52. (10.1006/dbio.2000.9608)
Ymchwil
Projects
Gene Function and Expression in Cell Differentiation Programs
Background: Our research centres on the genetic programs of cell differentiation that produce specialised cell-types from stem/progenitor cells. At the heart of these programs are key transcription factors that orchestrate the expression of specific cohorts of genes.The focus of our current research is the conserved transcription factor Mef2, which is found across the breadth of the animal kingdom, and is a key player in muscle and nerve differentiation. Much of our research uses the classic model organism, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This system has an impressive history in making fundamental contributions to understanding human biology.
Current projects. Prospective post-doctoral fellows or PhD students interested in our work are encouraged to contact the lab.
1. Regulation of the muscle differentiation program: Our work on a gene called Him, a novel inhibitor of muscle differentiation that down-regulates Mef2 activity, has revealed a balance of positive and negative inputs controlling muscle differentiation. We are analyzing Him and other regulators to explore how progenitor cells are maintained in a committed, but undifferentiated state, and how they are triggered to enter the differentiation pathway. We analyse both larval and adult muscle during Drosophila development. The production of adult muscles during metamorphosis is a fascinating and powerful model system for the genetic and cellular analysis of progenitor cells, tissue remodeling and regeneration.
2. Mef2 protein interactions: Central to cell differentiation programs is the organised expression of large numbers of genes in specific spatial and temporal patterns. Pivotal to this are key transcription factors like Mef2 that orchestrate the expression of specific cohorts of genes. These factors are regulated in time and space to give different gene expression outputs. These different outputs must result from interactions with other proteins, but it is not known how. To answer this, our goal is a systematic analysis of proteins that interact with Mef2, both to advance understanding of the muscle differentiation program and also as an example of how the proteins in a cell interact to produce the specific transcriptional outputs that regulate cell function in health and disease.
3. Neuroscience: We are exploring Mef2 function in nerve differentiation and degeneration, and are developing models of disease for neurodegenerative conditions and movement disorders. Our approach involves using Drosophila to inform mammalian systems to best advance understanding.
4. Chromatin and differentiation programs: Genes are present in chromatin, a complex of DNA with proteins. We are analysing how these proteins regulate how Mef2 target genes are switched “on or off” in cell differentiation programs, including muscle, nerve and heart. The Drosophila heart is attractive as a relatively simple structure with genetic parallels to the mammalian heart.
Impact on health and quality of life: An in-depth knowledge of cell differentiation programs is critical for understanding aspects of disease and ageing, and for a range of applications, including stem cell technology and tissue repair.
Muscle disease/dysfunction - this includes the muscular dystrophies, muscle injury, and the widespread muscle weakness and degeneration associated with ageing.
Cancer - cell differentiation and cancer biology are closely linked. Key genes in our cell differentiation studies have important roles in cancer. Understanding how they function will inform their potential as therapeutic targets.
Stem cells - a mechanistic knowledge of cell differentiation is required to realize the potential of stem cells to produce specific cell-types for tissue repair.
Grants
- BBSRC
- EU FP6 Network of Excellence "MYORES"
- John Ryder Memorial Trust
Research group members
Ms Jun Han
Postgraduate research students
Miss Alina Cepraga
Mr Sami Chaussee
Collaborations
- Dr Eileen Furlong, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Dr Zhe Han, Ann Arbor, USA
- Dr Krzysztof Jagla, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
- Prof Eric Olson Dallas, USA.
Bywgraffiad
Graddiais mewn Gwyddorau Naturiol o Brifysgol Caergrawnt yn 1981, a chefais fy PhD ym 1985, hefyd o Gaergrawnt, am ymchwil ar fecanweithiau signalau mewn celloedd mamaliaid. Yna dilynodd dau "ôl-docs" gan ddefnyddio'r organeb enghreifftiol, y broga Xenopus laevis. Yn gyntaf, dyfarnwyd Cymrodoriaeth Hirdymor EMBO i mi weithio (1985-1986) yn labordy'r Athro M. Mechali yn yr Institut Jacques Monod ym Mharis, Ffrainc ar y dadansoddiad o proto-oncogenes newydd eu darganfod yn datblygu. Yn ail (1987-1991), dadansoddais fynegiant genynnau cyhyrau yn labordy yr Athro Syr John Gurdon (enillydd gwobr Nobel 2012), yn gyntaf yn yr Adran Sŵoleg, Prifysgol Caergrawnt, ac yna yn Sefydliad Wellcome/CRC yng Nghaergrawnt (Sefydliad Gurdon bellach). Yn ystod y cyfnod hwn roeddwn hefyd yn Gymrawd Ymchwil o Goleg Darwin, Caergrawnt.
Ym 1991 dyfarnwyd Cymrodoriaeth Ymchwil Prifysgol y Gymdeithas Frenhinol i mi sefydlu fy labordy fy hun yn yr Adran Sŵoleg, Caergrawnt ac i newid organeb enghreifftiol i'r pryf ffrwythau Drosophila melanogaster. Manteisiais ar ddulliau genetig moleciwlaidd i ddatgelu genynnau newydd mewn gwahaniaethu cyhyrau. Yn 2000, symudais i Ysgol y Biowyddorau, Prifysgol Caerdydd, a dechrau ar Uwch Ddarlithyddiaeth, gan barhau ag ymchwil sy'n canolbwyntio ar y rhaglen gwahaniaethu ar gyfer cyhyrau anghyfreithlon. Rhwng 2005-10 roeddwn ar y grŵp llywio o "MYORES", Rhwydwaith Rhagoriaeth FP6 yr UE ar ddatblygu cyhyrau, swyddogaeth ac atgyweirio, a chydlynu un o'i chwe rhaglen ymchwil gyfansoddol. Gwasanaethais ar bwyllgor Cymdeithas Bioleg Ddatblygiadol Prydain (BSDB) o 2004 tan 2013. Am y pum mlynedd diwethaf o'r amser hwn roeddwn i'n ysgrifennydd BSDB. Cefais fy nyrchafu yn Ddarlithydd yn 2012.
Contact Details
+44 29208 75881
Adeilad Syr Martin Evans, Ystafell Cardiff School of Biosciences, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, Rhodfa'r Amgueddfa, Caerdydd, CF10 3AX