Search
Biomechanics of Toxoplasma nucleus under constrained physiological motions – TOXONUC
In confined 3D microenvironments’ where metazoan cells move, their nuclear genome scaffolding and dynamic functions are preserved through the nucleus elastic properties conferred by components partitioning between the dense nucleus matrix and the cytoplasm-located skeletons. Specifically the intrins
Functional proteomics of multiciliated cells – MCCproteome
The MCCproteome project aims at understanding how multiciliated cells (MCCs) are built, a question of high relevance to human health. MCCs harbor myriads of motile cilia beating coordinately to generate directional flows of biological fluids, or to move particles and cells, at the surface of special
Deciphering the biophysical basis by which glycosaminoglycans control growth factor signaling during development: a biomimetic approach – GlyCON
During recent years, increasing evidence has been accumulated that the activity and bioavailability of growth factors (GFs) in the tissue is determined by the extracellular matrix, in particular by the heparan sulfate (HS) chains of proteoglycans, which interact with distinct basic domains of the G
A central control hub in DNA damage responses: function and regulation of the RBR module – RHiD
DNA damage represents a critical threat to every cell in all organisms. Globally, the DNA Damage Response (DDR) consists of a set of tightly regulated events, from sensing of the inflicted damage, activation of a DDR signalling cascade that also blocks cell cycle progression, accumulation of DNA rep
Surface and volume modulation of fast deforming cells and organelles – SurVol
When cells proliferate in a tumor, because the tumor is often encapsulated in a stiff basement membrane, they are compressed by their own growth. Similarly, when cells escape primary tumors, the lack of space in surrounding tissues generates compressive forces that can induce strong deformations of
Mechanics of Embryonic Self-Organization and Plasticity – Embryonics
How molecular and mechanical cues interplay to coordinate the morphogenesis and cell differentiation during development is still largely unknown. This is largely due to the lack of approaches to probe the mechanics (forces involved and mechanical properties) of embryonic tissues. The avian embryo,
Deciphering how miRNAs control cluster root development in white lupin – MicroLUP
White lupin can form cluster roots as an adaptation to low phosphate, allowing an efficient acquisition of this fundamental nutrient for plant growth. Transferring this ability to other crops would help sparing the limited stocks of phosphorus. Indeed, experts predict that massive use of fertilizers
Amplification of centrioles: Nature, consequences and molecular Regulators of chromosome and cytoplasmic Remodeling – AN2R
Multiciliated cells (MCC) grow a hundred of motile cilia to transport vital fluids along organ lumens and promote essential respiratory, reproductive, and brain functions. Defects in motile cilia formation lead to severe diseases such as bronchiestasis, infertility and neurodevelopmental problems by
Adhesion Dynamics On the Bacterial Envelope – ADOBE
Bacterial communities colonize and attach to solid surfaces thanks to adhesive molecules exposed on the bacterial outer envelope. While a substantial number of molecular actors involved in bacterial adhesion have been characterized, their dynamics and their coordination on the bacterial envelope rem
Self-sustained velocity waves and emergence of robust patterns in biologica modell tissues – SupraWaves
The project aims at investigating the role of self-sustained velocity waves in the emergence of a supracellular organisation. Several recent works reported that wave-like patterns of the velocity spontaneously appear in colonies of epithelial cells. Those waves appear both in spreading epithelial s
Noise and robustness downstream of a morphogen gradient: a quantitative approach by imaging transcription dynamics in living embryos – FIREFLY
Morphogen gradients are used by various organisms to establish polarity along embryonic axes or within organs. In these systems, it is assumed that positional information is provided by the concentration of the morphogen detected by each cell in the target tissue and responsible for the determinatio
Senescence as a pivotal point of healthy aging – SENAGE
Cellular senescence attracted a lot of attention as a key player contributing to organismal aging. The accumulation of senescent cells is dramatically increased with aging, however their precise contribution to aging-related phenotypes remains largely unclear. The unknown extent of aging-induced sen
Regulating the actin cytoskeleton by controlling its oxidation – RedoxActin
Key physiological functions, such as cell division, migration and morphogenesis, rely on proper regulation of actin filament assembly and disassembly. While actin-binding proteins (ABPs) are well-established regulators of actin dynamics, direct post-translational modifications (PTMs) of actin are cu
Deciphering the Cell Senescence Code to Improve Healthspan – S-ENCODE
There are still many unresolved questions before to envisage anti-senescence therapies as to the clock and cell-type specificity of the senescence program, the interplay between different senescence inducers such as telomere shortening, oxidative stress and oncogenic activation, to what extent senes
Genetic and Mechanical Control of Myoblast Fusion. – MyoFuse
In this project, we wished to investigate the mechanisms whereby TGFß signaling exerts its inhibiting action on fusion and its possible interplay with cellular and environmental mechanical properties. Functional analyses and live observation of cellular behaviors when the function of candidate gene
An antimicrobial origin of organelle targeting peptides – ChloroMitoRAMP
To survive, the proto-endosymbiont had to be able to resist the innate immunity of the host cell, which includes the production of Helical Amphiphilic AntiMicrobial Peptides (HA-RAMPs), a primary defence mechanism of ubiquitous significance. Bacteria facing the action of HA-RAMPs produced by the hos
Regulatory networks governing craniofacial muscle diversity – MyoHead
Branchiomeric muscles of the head and neck share a common origin in cardiopharyngeal mesoderm (CPM) with parts of the heart derived from second heart field cardiac progenitor cells. Clonal analysis has identified three common skeletal and cardiac muscle lineages along the anterior-posterior axis of
Control of vesicular flows by golgins – VesicleFiltering
The golgine GMAP-210 recognizes vesicles crossing the Golgi apparatus on the basis of their high curvature and lipid unsaturation level. Do other Golgines recognize other physicochemical properties of membranes? Does the role of GMAP-210 in immunological synapse formation also involve recognition of
Regulation of cell-to-cell communication - the role of nanodomain-bound phosphoprotein REMORIN – PhosphoREM-domain
Cell-to-cell communication is mediated in plants by plasmodesmata PD, plasma membrane pores between cells. How plasma membrane (PM) of PD is involved in regulated is mostly unknown. The understanding of mechanisms governing phosphorylation, protein-protein interaction, and compartmentalization into
Quantitative real time analysis of the ERK pathway during embryogenesis – Cell-Whisper
Successful embryogenesis requires the differentiation of the correct cell types, in defined numbers and in appropriate positions. In most cases, decisions taken by individual cells are instructed by signals emitted by their neighbours. A surprisingly small set of signalling pathways is used for this
Integration of biochemical and mechanical signals at cell adhesive contacts during mammalian morphogenesis: a quantitative approach using a minimal self-organized system – AdGastrulo
A prevailing dogma in the field of developmental biology is that growth factors control the differentiation of stem cells into functional tissues. However, this vision often obscures the fact that the formation of an organism involves the spatiotemporal rearrangement of packed assembly of cells. I
Investigating the contribution of cellular layers to petal development in Petunia flowers – FLOWER-LAYER
How cells coordinate their growth and division to generate organs with defined shapes is a long-standing question in biology. In plants, organs are formed by clonally-distinct cellular layers that remain independent throughout organ development. In the mean time, organ identity, shape and size are s
Lipid transport to mitochondria and contact sites formation during phosphate starvation in plants. – MiCoSLiT
The global context of the MiCoSLiT project is the understanding of plant adaptation to phosphate starvation, a common nutrient stress impacting plant growth and crop yield. To adapt to this stress, plants developed several mechanisms to increase the uptake of extracellular phosphate and to remobiliz
Reconstitution of SUMO-dependent organization of the spindle midzone – SUMOzone
There are three initial aims of this project: Aim 1: Analysis of the effect of SUMOylation on molecular motors and MAPs, interactions and function Aim 2: Characterization and reconstitution of SUMO-dependent midzone assembly Aim 3: Reconstitution of midzone disassembly through SUMO-depe
System Level Understanding of Zinc and Phosphate Signalling Crosstalk – PHLOWZ
Phosphate (Pi), a major cell component, is a strategically important plant resource due to the impending shortage of high-quality sources of this element. Diminishing the use of Pi in crop production requires a better understanding of the factors that stimulate Pi uptake. It has been widely observed
Muscle cell type evolution and development – MYODEVO
The objective of this project is to characterize - molecularly, structurally and functionally - muscle cell types in two complementary cnidarian species, in order to reconstruct the early evolution of muscle genes and muscle cell types. The two species – Clytia hemisphaerica and Pelagia noctiluca –
CONTRIBUTION OF CYTOKINESIS GEOMETRY TO EPITHELIAL TUBULE ORGANIZATION – LUCELL
Understanding how asymmetric cytokinesis is achieved in tubular structures and whether and how random cytokinesis positioning impacts on tubular epithelia is thus of the utmost importance. More specifically, combining cell biological and biophysical approaches, our main objectives will be: (1) to st
An evolutionary perspective on meiotic kinetochore architecture and function in oocytes – EvoMeioForce
1) How are kinetochores assembled, attached and put under tension in oocyte meiosis I and II? Although kinetochores are essential for accurate chromosome segregation during meiosis of all species, how kinetochores are assembled and attached to spindle microtubules in meiosis of multicellular organi
Dynamics of Cell Polarity Establishment – DynCellPol
Cell polarity is critical for the development and maintenance of virtually all organisms at a multitude of scales from subcellular to individual cells, tissues and organs. This evolutionarily conserved process also ensures asymmetry with respect to cellular compartments, proteins and lipids and is c
Glycan topology-switch of integrin activity – GlycoTopoSwitch
Glycosylation of proteins and lipids is essential for life. Glycans participate in cellular functions as diverse as cell adhesion, signaling, intracellular trafficking, host-pathogen interaction, and immunity. Many of these functions can be ascribed to cell surface glycoconjugates. Their dynamics is
Dynamics of neural induction at the single cell level in chordates – NEUCECHO
The first step in the formation of the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) during embryonic development is called neural induction (NI). It is the instructive process by which naive ectodermal cells are committed to a neural fate. This concept was established by Mangold and Spemann who showed th
Regulatory mechanisms of muscle stem cell quiescence by the extracellular matrix niche. – muscleXTRA
Skeletal muscle is essential for locomotion, metabolism, thermoregulation, and vital sedentary activities like breathing and swallowing. A broad spectrum of myopathies is incurable, leading to muscle wasting, degeneration and are often life-threatening. Muscle stem cells (MuSC) provide a promising a
Development control of actin nucleation in C. elegans – DeCaNu
Cell state dictates some characteristic cytoskeletal architectures and its reciprocal also holds true. Actin architectures, while driving cell morphology, mechanics or gene expression profile, feedback into cell state. For example, a decrease of actin nucleation can change cell commitment during C.
Investigating the role of the Rab6 GTPase for polarised secretion in neural stem cells during neocortex development – RAPID
The Golgi complex plays a central role in the biosynthetic/secretory route: it controls post-translational modifications of soluble and transmembrane proteins as well as their sorting to specific compartments or to the plasma membrane. RAB6 is the most abundant Golgi-associated RAB GTPase, a family