Institute of Cell Biology - Research Themes

Chromosome Structure and Function

Image of Chicken chromosomes Image of Kinetochores and the sensing of tension in mitosis

Chromosomes contain the genetic material that must bepackaged and segregated accurately from generation to generation. This genetic material is also decoded appropriately as required by cell function and in development. Major themes of investigation include: DNA methylation, centromere function, mitotic chromosome condensation, chromosome segregation and epigenetic gene-silencing.

(Allshire, Bird, Earnshaw, Hardwick, Heck, Macleod, McQueen, Ohkura, Stancheva, Vogelauer)

Cell cycle

Image of The mitotic Cell cycle in S. pombe

DNA replication and chromosome segregation need to be carefully co-ordinated with cell division and this is mediated via checkpoints that regulate the cell cycle. Major themes include: control of mitosis, meiosis, DNA replication, and cell division.

(Earnshaw, Fantes, Hardwick, Heck, Ohkura, Sawin, Vogelauer)

Genome Stability

Image of SbcCD protein of E. coli Image of Drosophila wild type eye (top) and eye from a fly with a white peach mutation in a background with an active mariner transposon (bottom)

Inheritance of genetic material from one generation to the next requires genome stability while evolution requires instability. Mechanisms have evolved that mediate this balance between stability and instability. Major themes include: Repair in methylated DNA, transposable elements, control of chromosome mis-segregation and processing of mis-folded DNA.

(Bird, Finnegan, Hardwick, Leach, Ohkura)

RNA Biology

Image of Cellular localisation of Lsm7 protein Image of Cross section through the nuclei of a Drosophila blastoderm embryo. The pair-rule transcript runt is in green and the nuclear envelope in red.

Appropriate gene expression is controlled at many levels between the transcription of DNA and the synthesis of proteins. RNA processing and localisation are critical to this control. Major themes include: RNAi, pre-mRNA splicing, RNA transport and localisation in development and transposition, mRNA degradation, RNAi and rRNA processing.

(Allshire, Beggs, Davis, Finnegan, Tollervey)

Cell Structure and Development

Image of Drosophila egg chamber. DNA in blue, actin in green and nod-lacZ in red
Image of Failure of dorsal closure in a Drosophila embryo

Cell shape, division, movement and communication underpin cell function and development. Major themes include: mRNA localisation in development, maintenance of cell shape via the cytoskeleton, cell migration, calcium signalling, sex determination, oogenesis and ovarian development.

(Bownes, Davis, Earnshaw, Finnegan, Heck, McQueen, Ohkura, Read, Sawin, Schirmer, Telfer).