GeneRED (GeneRegulation in Evolution and Development) was a joint research initiative between IMB and the Faculty of Biology of Johannes Gutenberg University that ran from 2014-2018. It was funded as a Forschungsschwerpunkt (“research focus”) by Rhineland-Palatinate’s Ministry of Education, Science, Further Education and Cultural Affairs. 

With support for this initiative the Ministry recognised that research into gene regulation is a major strength in Mainz. To further expand research in this area, GeneRED awarded PhD positions for projects with a particular emphasis on how changes in gene regulation shape evolution and development. Additionally, GeneRED has provided funding to establish state-of-the-art proteomics services at IMB.

Research groups in GeneRED worked collaboratively using multidisciplinary techniques to address the following questions:

• How does the NURF complex help maintain neural stem cell identity in Drosophila? (Berger)
• How did division of labour evolve in social insects, and which genes are involved? (Feldmeyer/Foitzik)
• What are the roles of regulatory elements in the modern human adaptation to an agriculturalist diet and predisposition to metabolic syndrome? (Kirsanow/Burger)
• Which epigenetic factors are involved in body size memory creation in Drosophila? (Strauss)
• What are the targets of the NG2 protein in glial cell development and tumours? (Trotter)
• How do ciliary proteins affect DNA damage response and gene regulation in Usher syndrome? (Wolfrum)