SGS: Mounia Lagha - Lighting up the central dogma to dissect how sharp developmental patterns are established

The Lagha lab investigates the mechanisms governing gene expression during development, focusing on the interplay between transcription and translation. They pioneered methods to study the translation of single mRNA molecules in Drosophila embryos, revealing critical heterogeneity in translation. This work has led to the discovery of translation factories and intragenic translation heterogeneity, uncovering a novel layer of variation in gene expression.
To achieve a comprehensive understanding of gene expression precision, the Lagha Lab integrates transcriptional and translational regulation. They employ advanced quantitative imaging techniques to simultaneously monitor mRNA and protein dynamics in living Drosophila embryos with high spatio-temporal resolution. These observations are combined with theoretical models to formulate predictions, which are then tested through genetic and optogenetic manipulations. The lab's research aims to bridge the gap between transcription and translation, providing an integrated, multiscale view of gene expression control.