Thesis supervisor: Szilárd Szikora
co-supervisor: József Mihály
Location of studies (in Hungarian): Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Institute of Genetics Abbreviation of location of studies: SzBK
Description of the research topic:
The tropomyosin and troponin decorated actin filaments or thin filaments form highly organized and stable structures in muscle cells. The optimal length of the thin filaments is precisely regulated, and it is critical for efficient activity. Mutations altering the length of thin filaments are linked to nemaline myopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy. Despite its importance, the molecular basis of thin filament assembly and length specification in muscle cells remained poorly understood. Our major goal is to understand the dynamics and regulation of sarcomeric actin filaments at a molecular level. To reconstruct the process of thin filament assembly and growth we need to better understand their dynamics, therefore we are going to study the monomer to filament transition and the turnover of the thin filaments. Furthermore, determining the subcellular localization of the factors involved in this process is an essential part of the functional analysis. In this regard, we recently developed a nanoscopic approach, which exploits the regular structure of sarcomeres, and allowed us to determine the position of a large number of muscle proteins with a previously unprecedented localization precision of ∼5–10 nm. Finally, while some of the factors responsible for thin filament growth have been identified previously and our group was involved in their characterization, important players are still missing. Therefore, we are going to perform a genetic screen and we plan to identify and characterize unknown regulators of actin assembly in developing muscles.
Required language skills: English Further requirements: Practise in Drosophila genetics, molecular biology and confocal microscopy would be an advantage.
Number of students who can be accepted: 1
Deadline for application: 2022-12-31
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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