Profile

The organization of cells is at the same time highly specific and extremely dynamic. Both, whole cells and sub cellular structures are maintained in a steady state where constant energy input is used to create flux of components between defined compartments.
Our goal is to understand how a highly dynamic system such as the cell can generate the extraordinary spatial and temporal precision characteristic of most cellular processes. For our studies we use the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisae (baker’s yeast) and a combination of molecular genetics and cell biological tools. An emphasis will be on high end optical microscopy including techniques such as TIRFM (total internal reflection microscopy), FRET (fluorescence resonance transfer) or FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching).
We currently concentrate on three interconnected research areas:
4. Spontaneous cell polarization and the role of the small GTPase Cdc42 and its downstream effectors in the establishment of cell polarity. In this project we try to obtain a deeper understanding of molecular and biophysical parameters of the cell polarization process through a combination of live cell imaging and mathematical modelling.
5. The organization and dynamics of the cortical actin cytoskeleton in yeast. Using live cell imaging and TIRF microscopy of GFP labelled actin probes we will address questions on the dynamics of cortical actin cables, the regulation of actin nucleation and the link between actin cables and patches.
6. The organization of the yeast plasma membrane. Using a high throughput approach based on TIRF microscopy we will characterize the distribution and behaviour of all known plasma membrane-associated proteins in yeast with high spatial and temporal accuracy. This kind of global information will hopefully allow us to understand changes occurring during cell polarization on a systems level and to add an exact spatial component to the many signalling cascades occurring at the plasma membrane.