Professor Dónal O’Carroll, IRR Group Leader, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society

Professor O’Carroll’s research has provided crucial insight into fertility and the complex mechanisms by which genetic information is passed on from parent to offspring.  

His research has included: spermatogonial stem cells (cells that produce sperm) and processes that are key for lifelong male fertility; key discoveries about blood cell and leukaemia development; how microRNA is involved in many different processes throughout the body including neurodegeneration, the production of blood, and cancer; the role of chemical tags on DNA to protect against transposons, and the role of mRNA in mammalian oocyte (egg cell) maturation.

Transposons are parts of DNA that are able to move location from one part of the genome to another. They are sometimes called ‘jumping genes’ for this ability to move around. 

Transposons were first identified in corn plants by Barbara McClintock in 1951. It has since been established that they make up around half of the genome in eukaryotes (animals, plants, fungi, seaweed, and some single celled organisms) and are found in almost all life forms, including bacteria.  

In most cells, transposons pose a low threat. Changes to a particular cell’s DNA will only impact the relatively small number of cells that come from it. However, in germ cells, sperm and eggs, a change to the DNA in the cell will result in a change to the DNA in the whole organism of the offspring.  

Some alterations via transposons are beneficial and many are neutral; transposons are a driving force for evolution as they create copies of genes and variety in the genome, which leaves more opportunities for mutations that may be beneficial and therefore passed down.  

However, they also pose a threat to germ cells. If a transposon inserts itself into the genome in the middle of a gene that codes for a protein that is essential for life, for example, that gene will no longer work and the germ cell will not be able to produce any offspring. Or a transposon might interrupt a gene that leads to severe consequences; Alzheimer's, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, some cancers, and some types of immunodeficiency and haemophilia are all caused by or linked to transposons. 

Dónal’s work is looking at how to protect germ cells from transposons by preventing them from moving around in the genome. He has found that small RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) molecules have a role to play in this, recruiting chemical tags, or DNA Methlyations, to the DNA so that transposons are disabled.

Professor Dónal O'Carroll is a world-renowned interdisciplinary biologist with a recognised track record in the field of RNA and germ cell biology. Throughout each stage of his career, he has made important discoveries that have paved the way for further insightful research that contribute to our understanding of complex biological systems. He has made many major contributions to the understanding of transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that regulate gene and transposon expression. 

Beyond his research contributions, Professor O'Carroll has provided leadership in the fields of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He was the Associate Director of the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Head of the Institute for Stem Cell Research from August 2015 to August 2020. In recognition of his important contribution to research and leadership, in 2019 he was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE). In 2020, he was elected a Member of European Molecular Biology Organisation. Professor O'Carroll is currently the Chair of Stem Cell Biology at the University of Edinburgh, where he is a group leader at both the Centre for Regenerative Medicine within the Institute for Regeneration and Repair, and the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology.  

The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship, made up of many of the world’s foremost scientists, technologists, and engineers.  

Each year, around 90 new fellows are elected to the Society in recognition of their contributions to their fields and for excellence in science for the benefit of humanity. 

Notable Fellows include Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin. 

Other Fellows selected this year come from a range of backgrounds, from many different institutions including universities, research institutes, and private sector researchers.