CAREER: Cell Size Control

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Cells have a size at which they can best perform their physiological functions. Indeed all cell types, whether bacterial, plant or animal, maintain a characteristic size as they grow and divide. However, despite the fact that cell size control is a universal and fundamentally important property of cells, the molecular mechanism of size control and its basis in physical chemistry remain poorly understood. In this project the PI, using yeast as a model, will employ a combination of techniques to address this question. Novel high-throughput, single-cell screening, genetic analysis and live cell imaging techniques will be used. An iterative process of experimentation and analysis will be used to construct and test mechanistic mathematical models of the cell size control checkpoint. Broader Impacts: In addition to training a postdoctoral fellow and graduate student, the PI will work with high school students (including members of groups under-represented in science), high school teachers and undergraduates in an interdisciplinary project to determine the environmental controls influencing cell size selection. The students will identify environmental controls on cell and genome size by quantifying and analyzing the extensive fossil record for the foraminifera (a group of single-celled organisms). The excellent fossil record and high modern diversity of foraminifera provide a unique system for studying geological influences on the evolution of cell size. This team of young investigators, led by the PI, will have the opportunity to substantially enhance our understanding of this fundamental biological process.