Understanding the role of intracellular trafficking in in vivo cell polarisation during tissue patterning using state-of-the-art imaging and gene mani

细胞极性是一种基本的细胞特性，决定了我们体内器官和组织的形式和功能。虽然在单细胞中得到了很好的研究，但细胞和发育生物学的一个主要前沿是了解细胞极性如何在组织内建立和协调。平面极性是这种协调的一个例子，其中上皮中的细胞都获得相同的取向。一个主要的悬而未决的问题是如何在体内使用细胞过程，如囊泡运输和内吞作用，以使协调的细胞极化。该项目是一个合作之间的斯特拉特实验室，其中有丰富的经验，研究平面极性机制使用模式生物果蝇，和Smythe和巴伦实验室，专门了解细胞信号转导中的内吞作用。总体目标是了解内吞运输在发育中的上皮细胞中建立平面极性的作用和调节。前沿的遗传操作技术将被用于荧光标记感兴趣的内吞蛋白质，并在真实的时间操纵它们的功能。然后，这些工具将与多色实时成像相结合，为活生物体中细胞极化和内吞运输事件的相互作用提供新的见解。

Cell polarity is a fundamental cellular property that determines the form and function of the organs and tissues in our bodies. While well-studied in single cells, a major frontier in cell and developmental biology is to understand how cell polarity can be established and coordinated within a tissue. Planar polarity is an example of such coordination, whereby cells in an epithelium all acquire the same orientation. A major outstanding question is how cellular processes such as vesicular trafficking and endocytosis are used in vivo to enable coordinated cell polarisation.The project is a collaboration between the Strutt lab, which has extensive experience in studying planar polarity mechanisms using the model organism Drosophila, and the Smythe and Baron labs that specialise in understanding the role of endocytosis in cell signalling. The overall aim is to understand the roles and regulation of endocytic trafficking in establishment of planar polarity in developing epithelia. Leading-edge genetic manipulation techniques will be used to fluorescently tag endocytic proteins of interest and also to manipulate their function in real time. These tools will then be combined with multicolour live-imaging to provide novel insights in the interplay of cell polarisation and endocytic trafficking events in a living organism.