Research TopicsDepartment of Cell and Structural Biology
Ph.D. (1993) Pierre et Marie Curie University (France)
Research Topics
- Organization of the nucleus
- Chrosmosomes and other nuclear organelles
- RNA transcription and processing
- Nucleo - Cytoplasmic Trafficking
Research Interests
In eukaryotes, the nucleus is a highly organized compartment where various discrete organelles are throught to orchestrate important molecular processes. Yet, except for the chromosomes and the nucleus, the biological relevance of these sub-nuclear structures have been largely ignored for the last century, mainly because their molecular composition structure and function were unknown. A major goal of my laboratory is to better define the functional organization of these organelles, and their role in the molecular events regulating gene expression. Where these events are taking place and how they are influenced by the nuclear architecture are profound physiological aspects of the nucleus.
The amphibian oocyte nucleus, also called germinal vesicle (GV), provides the unique opportunity to approach these questions with an unprecedented spatial resolution. Because of its giant size (300 to 500 um in diameter), the GV can be easily and cleanly isolated from the cytoplasm for molecular analysis; the nuclear contents can also be spread on a slide where the lampbrush chromosomes and all the other organelles are readily observable in the light microscope.
One of these organelles, the Cajal body (CB) is present focus of my laboratory. CBs are best described as nuclear bodies highly enriched in RNA transcription and processing factors. New evidence implicate CBs as central regulators of all RNA transcription and processing in the nucleus, and as such, as one of the most important organelles in the cell.
Key Words Amphibian oocytes, Germinal vesicle, Lampbrush
chromoscomes, Nuclear organelles, Cajal bodies, RNA transcription and
processing, Transcriptosome, RNA-Protein interaction, Shuffling proteins,
Macromolecular complexes