WEHI Wednesday Seminar hosted by Dr Carolyn de Graaf

AnneMarie Welch
PhD Student – Davidson Laboratory, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer division
(This is a PhD Completion Seminar)

Evolution of Erythrocytes and Thrombocytes in Vertebrates

Davis Auditorium
Join via SLIDO enter code #WEHIWednesday
Including Q&A session
 

Haematopoiesis is the fundamental process by which all blood cell types are generated and has been conserved across vertebrate evolution for over 550 million years. Despite the diversity of species, core blood cell functions—such as immunity, oxygen transport, and haemostasis—remain remarkably consistent, supported by deeply conserved molecular pathways. Among these lineages, erythrocytes and thrombocytes (megakaryocytes in mammals) play essential roles in oxygen delivery and maintaining vascular integrity. 

In mammals, these lineages exhibit unique adaptations, including erythrocyte enucleation and the production of platelets from highly polyploid megakaryocytes. These features distinguish mammalian systems from non-mammalian vertebrates, where thrombocytes remain nucleated circulating cells. While these innovations are central to mammalian physiology, the molecular mechanisms and regulatory changes that drove their evolution remain incompletely understood. 

In this study, I apply a comparative evolutionary approach to investigate the development, maturation, and lineage-specific features of these cells. By integrating transcriptomic and epigenomic datasets from human, mouse, chicken, and zebrafish—generated both in-house and from published studies— I have identified conserved and lineage-specific regulatory programs underlying erythroid and thrombocytic differentiation. Using ATAC-seq data we have investigated lineage specific gene regulation including transcription factor motifs conserved throughout haematopoiesis for erythrocyte and thrombocyte specification. 

All welcome!