Cell Organisation and Dynamics

Overview

Our group brings together researchers investigating various aspects of cell organisation and dynamics. A major focus is to understand the mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis, targeting and trafficking of proteins within the cell. We also investigate membrane and cytoskeletal dynamics, intracellular ion homeostasis and the cellular processes responsible for plant growth and development. A major goal is to decipher how defects in these processes leads to disease.

Research group leader: Dr Martin Lowe

Principal investigators

Members

  • Viki Allan - Microtubule motors in health disease
  • Caroline Bowsher - Carbon-nitrogen interaction and signal mechanisms in higher plants
  • Patrick Gallois - Programmed Cell Death in Plants
  • Stephen High - Membrane protein biosynthesis at the endoplasmic reticulum
  • Martin Lowe - Membrane Traffic in the Secretory and Endocytic Pathways
  • Hui Lu - Import, folding and assembly of mitochondrial proteins
  • Thomas Nuhse - Cell Wall Feedback Signalling
  • Jon Pittman - Metal transport and homeostasis in plants
  • Martin Pool - Regulation of Protein Targeting and Translocation at the Endoplasmic Reticulum
  • Blanche Schwappach - Physiological integration of membrane protein biogenesis and intracellular ion homeostasis
  • Lisa Swanton - Mechanisms of protein quality control and their role in disease
  • Simon Turner - Plant cell wall synthesis and vascular tissue development
  • Philip Woodman - Receptor sorting in the endocytic pathway

Affiliates

  • Chris Grant - Molecular Defences against Oxidative Stress
  • Owen Jones - Targeting of Ion Channels in the Central Nervous System
  • Dave Thornton - Molecular assembly and biology of mucus
Programmed cell death in a root cap.

Programmed cell death in a root cap.

Microtubules in a leaf cell.

Microtubules in a leaf cell.

Transmembrane domains of wild-type and mutant proteolipid protein (PLP)

Predicted structure of one of the transmembrane domains of wild-type and mutant proteolipid protein (PLP).

Structure of the signal recognition particle

Structure of the signal recognition particle bound to a translating ribosome.

Model for the biogenesis of the multiple spanning membrane protein P2X2

Model for the biogenesis of the multiple spanning membrane protein P2X2 at the Sec61 translocon of the ER.

GFP-tagged cytokeratin expressed in a human tissue culture cell.

GFP-tagged cytokeratin expressed in a human tissue culture cell.

Zebrafish embryo at 1 day post-fertilisation.

Zebrafish embryo at 1 day post-fertilisation.

A human tissue culture cell.

A human tissue culture cell labeled for the Golgi apparatus (green), microtubules (red) and the nucleus (blue).

Two-dimensional gel analysis of a plant cell protein extract.

Two-dimensional gel analysis of a plant cell protein extract.

Intact and burst algae cells (C. reinhardtii).

Intact and burst algae cells (C. reinhardtii) showing accumulation and release of stained lipid bodies.

Internalised EGF receptor (black dots) inside an aberrant endosome.

Electron microscopy image showing internalised EGF receptor (black dots) inside an aberrant endosome.

Yeast cells expressing a GFP reporter protein.

Yeast cells expressing a GFP reporter protein localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, plasma membrane and vacuole.

 

Recent grants and awards

The Cell Organisation and Dynamics group contains two independent fellows, Thomas Nuhse who is a BBSRC David Phillips Fellow, and Hui Lu, a Royal Society Research Fellow.

Stephen High has recently been awarded 2 project grants from the Wellcome Trust for £208,000 and £204,000 to study The biogenesis of polytopic membrane proteins and Tail anchored protein biogenesis.

Hui Lu has been awarded 3-year project grants from the BBSRC and Leverhulme Trust to study the molecular mechanism of the mitochondrial Mia40-Erv1 system and method development towards an understanding of weak and transient protein-protein interactions respectively.

Simon Turner has been awarded 2 BBSRC project grants worth a total of £870,000 to study cell division during plant vascular development and protein acylation in localisation and function of the cellulose synthase complex.

Jon Pittman has received a grant from the Carbon Trust for the development of biofuels from Algae.

Martin Pool has received a project grant from the BBSRC worth £400,000 to study the role of the ribosome in membrane protein biogenesis.

Interdisciplinary grant:
Philip Woodman and Viki Allan have been awarded a joint grant with Tom Waigh in the Physics and Astronomy department at Manchester worth £494,000 to investigate The regulation of dynein mechanochemistry in vivo.

Charity Award:
Martin Lowe has recently been awarded a research grant from the Lowe syndrome Trust to investigate the role of the Lowe syndrome protein OCRL1 in lysosome biogenesis.

Viki Allan was awarded a project grant worth £685,000 from the Wellcome Trust to investigate the targeting and regulation of membrane-associated cytoplasmic dynein.

Simon Turner, together with 14 others, recently renewed an EU FP7 grant entitled 'Improved plant cell walls for use as a renewable industrial feedstock'.

An MRC research grant worth £686,000 was awarded to Philip Woodman, Viki Allan and Martin Lowe to study dynamics and function of early endosomes.

Martin Lowe and 7 additional members of our research group have been awarded a BBSRC China partnering award with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing to foster collaborative links between the two institutions.

 

Highlight publications

Etchells, J. & Turner, S (2010). The PXY-CLE41 receptor ligand pair defines a multifunctional pathway that controls the rate and orientation of vascular cell division. Development (Cambridge, England), 137(5), 767-74.
Full text DOI:10.1242/dev.044941
PubMed entry PMID:20147378

Pool MR (2009) A trans-membrane segment inside the ribosome exit tunnel triggers RAMP4 recruitment to the Sec61 translocase. J. Cell Biol. 185, 889-902.

Schuldiner M, Metz J, Schmid V, Denic, V, Rakwalska M, Schmitt HD, Schwappach B, Weissman JS (2008) The GET Complex Mediates Insertion of Tail-Anchored Proteins into the ER Membrane. Cell 134: 634-645.

Doyotte A, Mironov A, McKenzie E, Woodman P. (2008). The Bro1-related protein HD-PTP/PTPN23 is required for endosomal cargo sorting and multivesicular body morphogenesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(17), 6308-13.
Full text DOI:10.1073/pnas.0707601105
PubMed entry PMID:18434552

Chiu, C.F., Ghanekar, Y., Frost L., Diao, A., Morrison, D., McKenzie, E., and Lowe, M. (2008). ZFPL1, a novel ring finger protein required for cis-Golgi integrity and efficient ER to Golgi transport. EMBO J. 27, 934-947.

Pawel Leznicki, Anne Clancy, Blanche Schwappach and Stephen High. (2010). Bat3 promotes the membrane integration of tail-anchored proteins. Journal of Cell Science, 123, 2170-2178.
Full text DOI:10.1242/jcs.066738