Speaker: SU Mao Han (Graduate Student, MBI, NUS)

Date: 20 December 2016, Tuesday

Time: 3pm

Venue: MBI, T-lab, level 5 seminar rooms

Supervisor(s): Prof WU Min

Abstract: Living  cells  exhibit  various  dynamic  biological  patterns  in  the  forms  of  waves and  oscillations.  Increasing  attention  is  paid  to  their  functions  in  efficient  and robust  signal  transduction. However,  whether  plasma  membrane  plays  an  active role in wave propagation remains to be answered.

In  this  work,  I  characterized  the  mechanism  of  intracellular  pattern  formation of  FBP17,  a  curvature-generating  protein  that  functions  upstream  of  actin polymerization.  Travelling  waves  of  FBP17  mechanically  depend  on  plasma membrane and the  appropriate  curvature  of  F-BAR  is  crucial  for  membrane undulation  and  wave  propagation.  My  results  present  a  biological  system  where membrane-shape-mediated  mechano-chemical  feedback  is  critical  for spatiotemporal  pattern  formation.  This  curvature-mediated  coupling  is  a  novel mechanism for rapid transduction of signals across cell membrane.

ALL EXCEPT PANEL ARE EXCUSED FOR CLOSE DOOR EXAMINATION