Lipid transport across membrane contact sites (25*)

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Membrane contact sites serve as platforms for signal transduction and exchange of material between organelles. Several lines of evidence point towards coordinated transport of lipids across such contacts, but it is currently difficult to directly visualize lipid transport in intact cells due to technical obstacles. In this project, we will develop novel probes based on the trifunctional lipid principle which enable pre-localization, release and visualization as well as identification of lipid-interacting proteins. Additionally, we plan to employ chemically inducible, synthetic tethers between organelles to investigate the contribution of membrane contact sites to pathologies such as lysosomal storage disorders and Hepatitis C virus replication.