At The Hebrew University
About
Alternative splicing patterns are unique in the brains of autistic people. Is this pattern a cause or consequence of the disorder? We could get some clues to solving this mystery from the phenotypes of spliceosome-related genetic mutations. Individuals with such mutations often present with neurodevelopmental disorders in general and autism spectrum disorder in particular. We hypothesize that altered pre-mRNA splicing is a cause of autism spectrum disorder and use high-throughput tools to study this connection.
Salton Lab
We use molecular biology techniques and high-throughput sequencing to reveal the layers of pre-mRNA splicing regulation in health and disease. Specifically, we study how chromatin interacts with the spliceosome to alter alternative splicing patterns.
Website design by Yarden Salton-Morgenstern
Team Members
Shiri Jaffe-Herman
MSc Student
shiri.jaffe at huji.mail.ac.il
Adi Gershon
MD-MSc Student
adi.gershon1 at huji.mail.ac.il
Alumni
Ahmad Siam, Klil Cohen, Rauf Najar, Yehudit Harush, Sara Dahan, Mayra Petasny, Mai Baker
Lab Events
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Selected publications
Eden Engal, Kaisa Teele Oja... Katrin Õunap*, Maayan Salton*, Hagar Mor-Shaked*. Bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in WBP4, encoding a spliceosome protein, result in a variable neurodevelopmental syndrome. AJHG, Dec 7;110(12):2112-2119, 2023.
Eden Engal, Zhenwei Zhang, Ophir Geminder, Shiri Jaffe-Herman, Gillian Kay, Asa Ben-Hur, Maayan Salton. The spectrum of pre-mRNA splicing in autism. WIREs RNA, 15(2), e1838, 2024.
Eden Engal... Maayan Salton*, Yotam Drier*. DNMT3B splicing dysregulation mediated by SMCHD1 loss contributes to DUX4 overexpression and FSHD pathogenesis. Science Advances. In press.
Aveksha S, Mistriel-Zerbib S, ... Maayan Salton. Hematopoiesis and cell growth are differentially regulated by TAL1 isoforms. BioRxiv, 2022.
Engal E, Baker M, Salton M. The chromatin roots of abnormal splicing in autism. Trends Genet. 2022 . Review
Mai Baker, Mayra Petasny, Mercedes Bentata, Gillian Kay, Eden Engal, Yuval Nevo, Ahmad Siam, Sara Dahan, Maayan Salton. KDM3A regulates alternative splicing of cell-cycle genes following DNA damage. RNA, 2021.
Sara Dahan, Klil Cohen, Mercedes Bentata, Eden Engal, Ahmad Siam, Gillian Kay, Yotam Drier, Shlomo Elias and Maayan Salton. VEGFA’s distal enhancer regulates its alternative splicing in CML. NAR Cancer, 2021.
Mayra Petasny, Mercedes Bentata, Andrea Pawellek, Mai Baker, Gillian Kay and Maayan Salton (2020). Splicing To Keep Cycling: The Importance of Pre-mRNA Splicing during the Cell Cycle. Trends in Genetics. 2021. Review
Mercedes Bentata, Guy Morgenstern, Yuval Nevo, Gillian Kay, Avital Granit Mizrahi, Mark Temper, Ofra Maimon, Liza Monas, Reham Basheer, Asa Ben-Hur, Tamar Peretz and Maayan Salton. Splicing Factor Transcript Abundance in Saliva as a Diagnostic Tool for Breast Cancer. Genes, 2020.
Ahmad Siam, Mai Baker, Leah Amit, Gal Regev, Alona Rabner, Rauf Ahmad Najar, Mercedes Bentata, Sara Dahan, Klil Cohen, Sarah Araten, Yuval Nevo, Gillian Kay, Yael Mandel-Gutfreund and Maayan Salton. Regulation of alternative splicing by p300-mediated acetylation of splicing factors. RNA, 2019.
Introduction to General Genetics (94627)
Under-Graduate Course
The aim of the course is to provide students basic knowledge in genetics of microorganisms (prokaryotes) and creatures with nucleus (eukaryotes), that will serve as a basis for future studies.
Human Genetics
(94622)
Under-Graduate Course
The course covers human hereditary and molecular genetics, with a strong genomics and human disease perspective. My part in the course focuses on epigenetic inheritance, the history of crispr and pre-mRNA splicing and disease.
Presentation skills (94604)
Graduate Course
Nothing paralyses students more than having to present at a conference. It is a scary task, but a scientific career depends on how well we talk in public. Fortunately, improving your presentation skills is possible. The course is built to help reduce your anxiety, to teach you how to build an effective presentation and to improve your performance skills.
Teaching
Lectures & Workshops
View from the campus cafeteria by Sarah Araten
Contact Us
A main focus of our lab is to train the next generation of scientists. We have created an environment that promotes learning and personal growth in a collaborative and supportive atmosphere. If you are self-motivated and looking for a nurturing lab to grow in contact us.
