Research in the Wellinger lab is centered on questions relating to the maintenance of the termini of eukaryotic chromosomes, the telomeres. Telomeres are highly conserved in structure and function amongst many eukaryotes and they are essential for genome stability. For example, in aging humans, telomeres become progressively degraded and the shortened telomeres have been associated with human cellular senescence. On the other hand, in human germinal cells there is a mechanism allowing counteracting these losses. The mechanism is based on the enzyme telomerase which will act and replenish the special telomeric DNA repeats. The telomerase enzyme is composed of several protein subunits plus at least one RNA molecule. Again, in humans, the reactivation of telomerase during cancer development contributes an essential property to cancer cells, namely that of a virtually endless capacity to divide (immortality). Therefore, telomerase remains a preferred target for the development of new anti-cancer treatments.

Major projects in the lab concern the interrelation of conventional replication and cell cycle checkpoints with telomere replication. Moreover, structure analyses of chromosome ends will reveal insights into the molecular mechanisms at hand. Finally, we also are at the forefront of research on structure function analyses of the telomerase RNP.

Virtually all this work uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system. This organism allows us to combine biochemistry with molecular genetics, genomics with microscopic techniques and we use cell large scale cell culture studies as well as single molecule tracking in vivo. Furthermore, we have developed several new techniques to analyze telomere biology ourselves (see below on most significant contributions).

We collaborate with many groups in Canada and other parts of the world (France, Germany, Israel, Great Britain, Slovakia and the USA). In Sherbrooke, the groups of S. Abou-Elela, B. Chabot and B. Laurent are also interested in questions relating to telomeres. We actively collaborate with clinician-researchers on direct links between telomere biology and human diseases, in particular hematological cancers and acute arthritis syndromes.