19-BBSRC-NSF/BIO. Leveraging synthetic biology to probe the rules of cell morphogenesis.

该项目旨在了解细胞如何使用合成工具控制其形状和运动。细胞运动对于单细胞的捕食和交配以及多细胞生物的正常发育和功能至关重要。被称为板足的片状突起是驱动和引导这种运动的引擎。然而，它们形成的规律尚不清楚。类似于没有个体“负责”的蚁群，蚁群的整体行为取决于蚂蚁之间局部相互作用的简单规则，细胞生物学的许多方面都受蛋白质之间相互作用的局部规则支配。该项目试图通过合成设计蛋白构建板足来定义蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的规则，这些设计蛋白的相互作用模式可以按顺序构建。这项工作是细胞形状/运动专家（Weiner）和蛋白质设计专家（Woolfson）之间的合作。这项工作必然是多学科的，它将培养三名博士后，他们将在细胞生物学、蛋白质设计和生物物理学领域合作。这项工作将加强美国和英国实验室之间以及NSF和BBSRC之间的联系。

This project seeks to understand how cells control their shape and movement using synthetic tools. Cell movement is essential for single cells to hunt and mate and for the correct development and function of multicellular organisms. Sheet-like protrusions called lamellipodia are the engines that power and guide this motility. However, the rules of their formation are not understood. Similar to ant colonies where no individual is "in charge", and the overall behaviours of a colony depends on simple rules of local interaction between ants, many aspects of cell biology are dominated by local rules of interaction between proteins. This project seeks to define these rules of protein-protein interactions by constructing lamellipodia from synthetic, designer proteins whose patterns of interaction can be built to order. This work is a collaboration between an expert in cell shape/movement (Weiner) and an expert in protein design (Woolfson). This work is necessarily multidisciplinary and it will train three postdoctoral fellows to work together across cell biology, protein design and biophysics. This work will strengthen links between US and UK labs and between the NSF and the BBSRC.