Lab Members / Projects
Our lab utilizes biochemical, biophysical, cell biological, and computational techniques to understand how chromosome movement is generated during cell division in human cells. We wish to understand the mechanisms that contribute to the orderly assembly of microtubules into the bipolar spindle apparatus and how forces are generated within the spindle to drive chromosome movement.
Using biochemical techniques we have developed a cell free mitotic extract that mimics the assembly of spindle poles (microtubule asters). We have used this system to identify and characterize the proteins responsible for focusing microtubule minus ends at spindle poles. We have recently applied computational techniques to this system to determine how the behavior of individual components are integrated to build a highly ordered microtubule array.
To visualize chromosome movement and spindle assembly in living cells we use the cell biological technique of time-lapse video microscopy (chromosome movement). By combining this technique with the ability to selectively block the activity of specific spindle proteins we are determining how specific motor and structural proteins drive chromosome movement in live cells.
Principal Investigator |
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Duane Compton, Ph.D |
Research Group Members |
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Amity Manning |
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Sarah Thompson |
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Swapna Kollu |
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Samuel Bakhoum |
