Research AREA: Next-generation genome editing tools based on replication stalling
Research
The Patinios Lab was established in December 2024 under the leadership of Dr. Constantinos Patinios. It is one of six inaugural research groups comprising the EMBL Partnership Institute at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center. The Partnership is centered on developing novel genome editing technologies through in vivo and in vitro research.
We have only scratched the surface of the microbial world, as many microbes remain intractable to genetic manipulation. This limitation led researchers to focus on the most tractable rather than the most interesting or valuable microorganisms. In our lab, we want to change this norm by developing widely applicable, user-friendly, and minimalistic genome editing tools that can be applied across the microbial world. Achieving this goal will allow us to advance research areas such as microbiome research, synthetic biology, and industrial microbiology, driving parallel innovation in healthcare and biotechnology.
Our group focuses on discovering, repurposing, and applying genome editing technologies that, amongst other effects, cause replication stalling and trigger the endogenous repair machinery towards homologous recombination and base mutagenesis. With our in-house generated portfolio of genome editing tools, we further delve into the understudied fundamentals of modification-specific replication fork stalling and repair. In-depth knowledge of these processes will enhance our understanding of how repair mechanisms respond to replication stall. This insight will also uncover novel biological processes, paving the way for the development of next-generation genome editing tools.
List of publications:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9306-4593