Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

We will investigate how the cytoskeleton mediates cell shape changes, a process that is fundamental for the development of eukaryotes. The cytoskeleton is composed of filamentous networks of proteins such as actin, myosin and tubulin that provide the architecture of the cell and are carefully regulated to mediate cell shape changes. If cells fail to change shape during development, this failure could prevent proper tissue formation, which would be disastrous for the organism. In addition, cancer cells also undergo shape changes for metastases and tumour progression, by a mechanism similar to cells during development. Recent studies in cell division revealed a role for anillin as a global scaffold and regulator of the cytoskeleton. However most of these studies were done on cells in culture and it is not known if anillin regulates additional contractile events that are relevant within the context of a tissue. I hypothesize that anillin modulates cytoskeletal dynamics to mediate cell shape changes during embryonic development by a mechanism similar to cell division. To test this hypothesis, I will use a combination of molecular, genetic and biochemical techniques using C. elegans embryogenesis as a model to investigate the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics by anillin in vivo. These studies will be of general interest to the public given the fundamental roles that the cytoskeleton has for development and cancer progression.