Scientific Seminar: Activity-dependent transcriptome remodelling at synapses

Cells must balance stable subcellular organisation with rapid functional adaptation. Local translation enables spatial control of protein synthesis, yet its role in maintaining subcellular domains is poorly understood. Synapses provide an experimentally tractable system to address these questions across activity states. Using integrated spatial transcriptomic and proteomic approaches, our published work generated a subcellular-resolution atlas of the mouse hippocampus, revealing selective mRNA and protein localisation as a core organisational feature. Building on this framework, ongoing analyses show that synaptic activity rapidly remodels local mRNA and protein composition. Blocking translation disrupts localisation of many activity-induced mRNAs, indicating that active translation drives molecular reorganisation. Future work will extend these principles to domains specialised for continuous activity to define how mRNA localisation and local translation support long-term stability and adaptive change. Together, this work establishes RNA localisation and translation as fundamental mechanisms of spatial cellular organisation.