Secretory Membrane Trafficking, Sorting, Compartmentaliz

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The Section on Organelle Biology investigates the global principles underlying secretory membrane trafficking, sorting and compartmentalization within eukaryotic cells. Live cell imaging of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins in combination with photobleaching and photoactivation techniques are being used to investigate the subcellular localization, mobility, transport routes and binding interactions of a variety of proteins with important roles in the organization and regulation of membrane traffic and compartmentalization. Quantitative measurements of these protein characteristics are used in kinetic modeling and simulation experiments in order to test mechanistic hypotheses related to protein and organelle dynamics. Among the topics currently under study include: growth and maintenance of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi morphology in mammalian cells and in developing Drosophila embryos; the mechanism(s) of secretory protein transport into and out of the Golgi apparatus; membrane binding/dissociation kinetics of trafficking machinery and its regulation; the generation and maintenance of cell polarity; and, organelle breakdown and reassembly during mitosis. We have also recently developed a photoactivatable GFP, whose mechanism of photoactivation is currently being investigated.