A genetic analysis of microtubule assembly and function in yeast
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States)
The major goal of our laboratory`s research is to understand how cells organize their cytoskeletons to produce motility: specific patterns of shape change, intracellular motility and locomotion. We focus primarily on microtubules. We appreciate that results from several laboratories including our own, suggest that microtubule function is expressed in part through interactions with other elements of the cytoskeleton and other cellular compartments, such as the plasma membrane. However, focusing on microtubules represents a justifiable reduction, since a wide variety of drug interference and localization experiments support the notion that intact microtubules are essential for each of these motile phenomena. The primary problem facing this field is understanding how microtubule structure and function is regulated in vivo. Although there are a variety of excellent experimental systems which permit detailed analyses of behavior in vitro, the extrapolation of these results to the situation in the cytoplasm is problematic. These efforts have been boosted significantly in the last several years by two advances: first, traditionally excellent genetic organisms, such as the yeasts, have been enlisted in the study of motility; second, molecular biology has enabled {open_quotes}pseudo-genetic{close_quotes} approaches in animal cells which display the most interesting of motile phenomena. Our laboratory is involved in both of these efforts. In the present report, we will summarize our present approaches using yeast.
- OSTI ID:
- 28443
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9210475-Cond.; TRN: 95:001845-0017
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: NATO advanced research workshop, Crete (Greece), 10-15 Oct 1992; Other Information: PBD: 1993; Related Information: Is Part Of Chromosome segregation and aneuploidy; Vig, B.K. [ed.] [University of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States). Dept. of Biology]; PB: 429 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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