Serge Ankri

PhD: University of Paris XI (France),1996

Nano Main Field:
My group deals with epigenetics in Entamoeba histolytica, an important unicellular human pathogen.
We have been the first to establish the presence of DNA methylation in the genome of this parasite.
Our research has shown that E.histolytica contains a single Dnmt2-like methyltransferase candidate gene making the parasite a perfect model for
studying the role of this protein. Following five years of productive research on this subject, a role for Dnmt2 as a regulator of E.histolytica
virulence and as a gatekeeper of the nucleus against retrotransposon activity has emerged. For many decades, glycolytic enzymes have been considered as
housekeeping proteins that exists mainly in the cytoplasm. My group has achieved recently a breakthrough in the Dnmt2 field by identifying the glycolytic
enzyme enolase as the first Dnmt2 interacting protein.

Research Interests:
Epigenetic regulation of gene expression
Virulence
Parasitology
DNA methylation
Metabolism