Dynamics of Intracellular Organization

CNRS UMR144, Institut Curie, Paris, France

PI: Franck PEREZ

A position is open to a PhD student in the frame of the IC-3i international PhD Program of the Institut Curie.

The call aims at recruiting motivated international students for PhD positions starting on October 1st, 2018.

Project

Synchronizing transport from the plasma membrane to the endoplasmic reticulum : new assays, new questions, new applications

Mammalian cells are characterised by the co-existence of multiple pathways both in the anterograde direction, from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the endosomal system and the plasma membrane, and in the retrograde one, back to the ER. Most of these pathways cross the Golgi complex which plays an essential role in sorting and processing cargos. In the recent years, the laboratory has developed a novel system, the RUSH system, which enables the systematic analysis of the anterograde secretory routes. It allows to synchronize the transport of a large variety of cargos from the ER to downstream compartments. It is amenable to real time imaging, biochemical quantification and screening. With this system we could uncover the diversity of anterograde secretory routes, analyse the impact of changes in cell physiology on cargo secretion and screen for perturbing siRNA or small molecules.

We will now tackle the question of the retrograde pathway and set-up a synchronized assay adaptable to diverse cargos. This will complement the existing assays (e.g. based on toxin transport) and allow us to get a more comprehensive picture and identify regulatory factors.

We will then use both the anterograde and retrograde assays to challenge theoretical models of Golgi- dependent transport and in particular test whether opposite flows can cross the same Golgi complexes and what are the effect, predicted by the theory and observed, of Golgi organization, dynamics and function.

Applications can be sent until January 25th 2018 (last deadline)

Apply on the web : http://training.curie.fr/ic3iphd