Architecture and functional significance of nuclear laminae of different molecular composition

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The nuclear lamina is a main constituent of the nuclear skeleton. Its structure is cell type specific and its molecular composition is developmentally regulated. However, the functional significance of the differences in its molecular architecture is not clear. We will use ectopic expression of particular lamin proteins or lamin mutants in amphibian oocytes to experimentally alter the composition of the lamina in vivo. This strategy will allow us to analyze the molecular interactions within the lamina structure itself as well as with other components of the nuclear envelope and the nuclear interior. These experiments are aimed to give experimental support for the role of the lamina in maintaining the integrity and mechanical strength of the nuclear envelope and the nucleus and its potential role in establishing/maintaining the spatial pattern of the nuclear pore complexes. The analyses will serve as a first step to understand the function of more complex lamina structures in other biological systems, that are - for technical reasons - not or only hardly accessible to a detailed molecular and structural analysis.