Andrew Liao Rose Hills
Regulation of Kinetochore Subunit Ndc80 During the Mitotic Cell Cycle in Yeast
Cell division is a highly regulated process through which organisms generate new cells. From a single fertilized egg, a whole organism is developed after many cell divisions have occurred. Since the majority of these divisions are mitosis, errors in mitosis can cause lethal embryos due to loss of genetic material. Therefore, it is crucial for a mitotic cell to propagate the genome faithfully. My research focuses on the machinery that distributes the genome during cell division. This machinery includes the kinetochore, the protein complex that connects chromosomes to microtubules during cell division. Specifically, I focus on the regulation of a kinetochore subunit called Ndc80. In yeast, the protein turnover of Ndc80 is highly regulated during meiosis, a specialized cell division that produces gametes. However, it is unknown whether the same type of regulation also occurs in the mitotic cell cycle. To investigate this question, I will assess when Ndc80 is degraded in the mitotic cell cycle as well as how such temporal degradation is achieved. Understanding Ndc80 degradation in the context of the mitotic cell cycle will provide insights into how the kinetochore and genome partitioning are regulated in cell division, a fundamental process of life.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you so much for your support this summer! This fellowship really made my summer an amazing experience where I could fully dedicate myself to my research, and I would gladly do it again. I learned a lot about working with yeast and even more about how to manage myself and my own projects. Im proud of the work that I did this summer, and Im excited to continue my project for the rest of my time here at Cal. This could not have been possible without your support, and I truly appreciate all youve done. Thank you!