Overview

The central topic of our group is the interplay between molecular motors, the components of cell adhesion complexes, and the actin- and microtubule-based cytoskeleton. This complex interplay and its modulation by chemical and mechanical signals plays a key role in defining cell shape, motility, adhesion, and polarity. During embryogenesis, it is important for the organization of three-dimensional cellular assemblies leading to the formation of tissues and organs. Increased motility contributes to invasion and metastasis of tumour cells.

A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cell locomotion will contribute to our understanding of these physiological and pathological processes. We will work towards this goal using a multi-facetted approach to characterize components of the actin- and microtubule-based cytoskeleton, adhesion complexes, and processive molecular motors. This will include the detailed biochemical and structural analysis of isolated proteins and protein complexes, the use of in vivo and in vitro assays to directly observe the function of the proteins, and molecular genetic approaches to selectively deplete proteins of interest or produce them in a recombinant form.

Dictyostelium amoeba, tissue culture cells and the mouse will be used to study the function of proteins of interest. This allows us to take advantage of the powerful molecular genetics, easily accessible phenotypes and strong biochemistry in Dictyostelium and to test the relevance of our findings in the context of more complex systems.