Investigating midbody mRNA function during mitosis

细胞分裂涉及两个基本过程。在第一步中，遗传信息被分割到母细胞的两边，而在第二步中，母细胞在被称为中体的区域被物理地分割成两个独立的子细胞。这个项目将调查观察到的一些遗传信息积累在中体。这项工作采用了跨学科的方法，可以广泛用于在理解知之甚少的细胞分裂基因和mRNAs的功能方面取得快速进展。更广泛的影响活动包括一个公共推广部分，该研究产生的显微镜图像将被用来创建一个可移动的20英尺长的科学艺术装置，称为“基因反思”。这件作品将被安装在威斯康星大学麦迪逊生物技术中心和威斯康星州科学博物馆的一个公共、交通繁忙的区域。这个装置的一部分将被建造成在威斯康星州当地旅行，然后在全国范围内旅行。我们的目标是拥有美丽、信息丰富的科学作品，并促进未来科学家和公众之间的公共参与项目。在某些类型的细胞中，中体因子的错误调节和中体积累会导致生长和发育的改变，这表明当细胞处理不当时，与中体相关的因子(蛋白质和mRNAs)可能会导致戏剧性的和有害的增殖和细胞命运的变化。必要的试剂、技术和数据集将被生成和共享，为确定中体相关mRNAs在细胞分裂期间如何调节提供基础。有了这样的知识，就有可能探索有丝分裂过程中中体特异的mRNAs的动态。PI在中体转录组中有了一个意想不到的初步发现，它丰富了一种众所周知的在蛋白质水平上起作用的重要运动蛋白的mRNA。这一发现挑战了目前对分子马达调节和运输机制的理解，也挑战了细胞质分裂的可能性。如果成功，这项研究产生的知识将改变目前对人类和生物生物学各个方面的分子马达和细胞分裂调控的理解。

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.