Investigating midbody mRNA function during mitosis

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Cell division involves two fundamental process. In the first step, genetic information is partitioned to opposite sides of the mother cell, while in the second step, the mother cell physically partitions into two separate daughter cells at a region known as the midbody. This project will investigate the observation that some genetic information accumulates at the midbody. The work employs interdisciplinary approaches that can be widely employed for making rapid progress in understanding the functions of poorly understood cell division genes and mRNAs. The Broader Impact activities include a public outreach component in which microscopy images generated from this research will be used to create a moveable 20-foot scientific art installation called "Genetic Reflections". This piece will be installed in a public, high-traffic area in the UW-Madison Biotech Center and then the Wisconsin Science Museum. Portions of this installation will be constructed to travel locally around the state of Wisconsin and then nationally. The goal is to have scientific artwork that is beautiful, informative and promotes future public engagement projects between scientists and the public.In certain cells types, midbody factor mis-regulation and midbody accumulation leads to altered growth and development, suggesting that the factors (proteins and mRNAs) associated with midbodies when mis-handled by the cell, can lead to dramatic and detrimental proliferative and cell fate changes. Necessary reagents, techniques, and datasets will be generated and shared, providing the foundation to determine how midbody-associated mRNAs are regulated during cell division. With such knowledge, it will be possible to probe the dynamics of midbody-specific mRNAs during mitosis. The PI has made an unexpected preliminary discovery in the midbody transcriptome of an enrichment of the mRNA of an important kinesin widely known to function on the protein level. This discovery challenges current understanding of the mechanisms of molecular motor regulation and transport, and also likely cytokinesis. If successful, the knowledge generated from this research will transform current understanding about the regulation of molecular motors and cell division in all aspects of human and organismal biology.