Tubulin posttranslational modifications are elements of the tubulin code that provide a rapid, reversible mechanism to diversify microtubule functions in cells. Our initial work deciphered the enzymatic mechanisms responsible for the generation of the highly heterogeneous modification patterns on microtubules.
Based on our discoveries and on the large panel of tools and approaches we have developed recently, we aim at gaining mechanistic insight into how the tubulin code, by changing microtubule properties, controls microtubule functions. Our approaches include biochemistry and biophysics, cell biology as well as whole-organism studies. Additionally, we are actively interacting with the clinics to identify novel links between our functional work and different diseases, such as cancer, neurodegeneration and ciliopathies.
One focus of our future work are in vitro, single-molecule experiments to directly measure how the tubulin code modulates the intrinsic properties of microtubule, or/and how it controls their interactions with microtubule-associated proteins and molecular motors. In parallel, we pursue our studies the role of tubulin posttranslational modifications in neuronal development and functions, as well as the roles of these modifications in primary and motile cilia. We will further investigate the role of tubulin glutamylation in the regulation of the cell cycle by studying the impact of this modification on spindle, midbody and centrosome functions.
All our projects are designed transversally, so that tools and approaches developed in one particular project can be used for other projects, and that each project can profit from a variety of different technologies and tools available in the lab. Most importantly, our aim is to connect molecular approaches with cellular and whole-organism studies in order to understand the functions of tubulin heterogeneity on a systems biological level.
