Research Overview
Our laboratory studies how microtubule motors, such as kinesins and dyneins,
transport organelles and other cargoes throughout the cell. We focus on elucidating the
mechanisms by which cells control specificity, timing and destination of transport.
Lipid droplets (yellow) in early Drosophila embryos.
Droplet distribution is controlled by active transport along microtubules.
To address these general questions, we employ a powerful new model system that can be
studied with a battery of techniques, from genetics to biochemistry to biophysics: the motion
of lipid droplets in Drosophila embryos. We employ this system to discover regulators that
control transport and to determine their molecular mechanisms of action. Many of the molecules
involved in droplet transport are also important for other processes, and we employ the
insights from our analysis of droplet transport to dissect the motion of selected other cargoes.
Lipid droplets store neutral lipids when resources are abundant; when resources are scares, stored lipids can be used for the production of energy and as a source of metabolites during “lean” times. As a consequence, our studies illuminate not only how microtubule motors are deployed in a controlled manner in the cell, but may also shed light on lipid homeostasis and energy metabolism. We recently discovered a new biological role for lipid droplets as sites of regulated protein sequestration, a role with broad implications for cell and developmental biology.
Our research is very visual and generates striking images; see, for example, the cover of the September 30th (2003) issue of Current Biology and our entry into the Drosophila Image Award 2007 competition.
For more details on our research, please check out the links below: