Speaker

Date and Location

Abstract

Abstract: My laboratory uses quantitative experiments and theory to study cell division, with an emphasis on investigating the spindle, the dynamic assembly that segregates chromosomes. We are trying to understand the self-organization of the spindle, the positioning of the spindle, and the mechanisms by which the spindles moves and accurately partitions chromosomes. We also study the differences in spindles between individuals and between species, and how failures in cell division can cause infertility. This has lead us to investigate possible connections between defects in mitochondria metabolism and defects in spindles, and pre-implantation embryo development more broadly.

In this talk, I will focus on our efforts using a combination of approaches from biophysics (including a novel laser ablation) and quantitative genetics (i.e. QTL mapping) to test broad classes of models of spindle elongation and positioning. This work has lead to a quantitative understanding of how cortical pulling forces can stably position the spindle (and asters), revealed the genetic basis of natural variations in spindle behaviors among C. elegans wild isolates, and results in a mechanistic explanation for the variations in the spindle across nematode species spanning over 100 million years of evolution.