Objetivo Cytokinesis completes cell division by partitioning the contents of the mother cell to the two daughter cells. This process is accomplished through the assembly and constriction of a contractile ring, a complex actomyosin network that remains poorly understood on the molecular level. Research in cytokinesis has overwhelmingly focused on signaling mechanisms that dictate when and where the contractile ring is assembled. By contrast, the research I propose here addresses fundamental questions about the structural and functional properties of the contractile ring itself. We will use the nematode C. elegans to exploit the power of quantitative live imaging assays in an experimentally tractable metazoan organism. The early C. elegans embryo is uniquely suited to the study of the contractile ring, as cells dividing perpendicularly to the imaging plane provide a full end-on view of the contractile ring throughout constriction. This greatly facilitates accurate measurements of constriction kinetics, ring width and thickness, and levels as well as dynamics of fluorescently-tagged contractile ring components. Combining image-based assays with powerful molecular replacement technology for structure-function studies, we will 1) determine the contribution of branched and non-branched actin filament populations to contractile ring formation; 2) explore its ultra-structural organization in collaboration with a world expert in electron microcopy; 3) investigate how the contractile ring network is dynamically remodeled during constriction with the help of a novel laser microsurgery assay that has uncovered a remarkably robust ring repair mechanism; and 4) use a targeted RNAi screen and phenotype profiling to identify new components of actomyosin contractile networks. The results from this interdisciplinary project will significantly enhance our mechanistic understanding of cytokinesis and other cellular processes that involve actomyosin-based contractility. Ámbito científico natural sciencesmathematicspure mathematicstopologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsnatural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryheterocyclic compoundsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticschromosomesnatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physics Palabras clave cytokinesis C. elegans actin myosin formin laser microsurgery Programa(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Tema(s) ERC-StG-2014 - ERC Starting Grant Convocatoria de propuestas ERC-2014-STG Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoria Régimen de financiación ERC-STG - Starting Grant Institución de acogida INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR E CELULAR-IBMC Aportación neta de la UEn € 1 499 988,75 Dirección RUA ALFREDO ALLEN 208 4200 135 Porto Portugal Ver en el mapa Región Continente Norte Área Metropolitana do Porto Tipo de actividad Research Organisations Enlaces Contactar con la organización Opens in new window Sitio web Opens in new window Participación en los programas de I+D de la UE Opens in new window Red de colaboración de HORIZON Opens in new window Coste total € 1 499 988,75 Beneficiarios (1) Ordenar alfabéticamente Ordenar por aportación neta de la UE Ampliar todo Contraer todo INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR E CELULAR-IBMC Portugal Aportación neta de la UEn € 1 499 988,75 Dirección RUA ALFREDO ALLEN 208 4200 135 Porto Ver en el mapa Región Continente Norte Área Metropolitana do Porto Tipo de actividad Research Organisations Enlaces Contactar con la organización Opens in new window Sitio web Opens in new window Participación en los programas de I+D de la UE Opens in new window Red de colaboración de HORIZON Opens in new window Coste total € 1 499 988,75