Septins in fungal development

septin是细胞骨架的重要组成部分，细胞骨架是一个复杂且受到严格调控的网络，它组织和支持细胞内的结构并指导建筑材料的运输。尽管它们是最近才被发现的，但已经清楚的是，septin对于有序的细胞分裂和发育（细胞在多细胞生物中发挥特殊作用的过程）至关重要。通过对简单的单细胞真菌酿酒酵母（出芽酵母）的研究，已经了解了很多关于septin如何起作用的知识。关于septin如何在更复杂的多细胞生物中协调发育的问题无法在酵母中解决。在这个项目中，septin在多细胞真菌芽曲霉中的作用将通过遗传学、细胞生物学和生化方法进行研究。重点将放在发现在多细胞发育的早期阶段，septin是如何相互作用以及与细胞骨架的其他部分相互作用的。该项目有望确定多细胞生物中单个细胞相互沟通和协调不同细胞类型生长发育的新途径。由于动物和真菌的大部分细胞分裂机制是相同的，因此该项目将产生广泛的科学影响。该项目将为本科生、研究生和博士后提供优秀的培训机会。受训者将在进行研究方面得到指导，有机会在各种环境中展示他们的工作，并发展他们作为沟通者和教师的技能。

Septins are an important part of the cytoskeleton, an intricate and tightly-regulated network that organizes and supports structures and directs traffic of building materials inside cells. Even though they were discovered relatively recently, it is already clear that septins are critical for orderly cell division and for development, the process by which cells take on specialized roles within multicellular organisms. Much has been learned about how septins work through studies in the simple single-celled fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast). Questions about how septins coordinate development in more complex, multi-cellular organisms cannot be addressed in yeast. In this project, the role of septins in the multicellular fungus Aspergillus nidulans will be investigated using genetic, cellular biology and biochemical approaches. The focus will be on finding out how septins work with each other and with other parts of the cytoskeleton during early stages of multicellular development. This project is expected to identify new ways in which the individual cells within multicellular organisms communicate with each other and coordinate growth and development across different cell types. Since much of the cell division machinery is the same in animals and fungi, the project will have a broad scientific impact. The project will provide outstanding training opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels. Trainees will be mentored in the conduct of research, have opportunities to present their work in a variety of settings and develop their skills as communicators and teachers.