Using cryo-electron tomography for understanding function of the ciliary tip domain

• Applicant: Dr. Alexander von Appen, since 9/2022
• Subject Area: Cell Biology
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 431923841

Cilia and flagella are evolutionarily conserved organelles on the surface of many eukaryotic cells, ranging from protists to most human cell types. They have fundamental motility, signaling and sensory roles. The axoneme, the complex and highly organized cytoskeletal element of cilia, is constructed by addition of hundreds of components to its distal tip. To study this poorly understood process we have identified dozens of the flagellar tip domain-localizing proteins in an experimentally highly tractable protist Trypanosoma brucei. We will use immuno-gold labeling and a state of the art cryo-electron tomography to obtain a 3D high-resolution model of the T. brucei flagellar tip domain, including positioning of selected tip proteins.We will gain insights into their functions by investigating the 3D organization of flagella from cells depleted of individual proteins. We will compare the model of the flagellar tip domain of T. brucei to the tip domain of mammalian cilia, gaining insights into the evolution of the tip domain.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Czech Republic
• Partner Organisation: Czech Science Foundation
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Vladimir Varga, Ph.D.
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Dr. Gaia Pigino, until 8/2022