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Eukaryotic cells are packed with many different organelles. In order to respond to environmental cues and coordinate homeostasis, cells need to tightly control the inter-organelle communication. One of the key organelles for the inter-organelle communication is the ER, which is the site of the synthesis and turnover of a major fraction of lipids and membrane proteins. The ER is directly connected to the nucleus by junctions with the outer nuclear membrane. This ER-to-nucleus connectivity is crucial for cellular homeostasis and to supply new lipids and membrane proteins to the nucleus during nuclear growth. However, what the structural nature of the ER-nucleus connection is, and how its size and number is regulated to support the key cellular functions, remains poorly understood. We aim to reveal the structure and function of this major yet poorly characterized inter-organelle connection and uncover the molecular mechanism governing it.
The correlative live imaging with high resolution electron microscopy that we have established previously, allows to visualise intra-cellular structures in situ in human cells in a spatio-temporally-resolved and quantitative manner. By combining this novel correlative imaging technology with quantitative live cell imaging and a microscopy-based loss-of-function screens, we will elucidate systematically how the structure and function of the ER-nucleus connection changes during nuclear growth, identify molecular players regulating them, and reveal how the ER-nucleus connectivity mechanistically controls the ER-to-nucleus communication.
Shotaro was born in Tokyo, Japan. He obtained a PhD in Biophysics at Kyoto University. In 2011, he moved to Germany to carry out postdoctoral work at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). In 2019, he started his own lab at the Max Perutz Labs in Vienna.
A correlative live imaging with electron microscopy was established that allows to examine subcellular structures and protein complexes at nano-meter resolution at specific stages of cell-cycle in a quantitative manner, and therefore can enable to visualize biological processes which have not been able to study due to the limited resolution of conventional microscopy.
The correlative imaging technique was applied to study nuclear envelope (NE) assembly during mitotic exit, and could demonstrate for the first time that the NE forms from highly fenestrated ER sheet whose holes progressively shrink. This finding provides a new approach to explore the ER-NE connectivity and ask how it is regulated to ensure proper ER-nucleus communication.
A quantitative map of nuclear pore assembly reveals two distinct mechanisms.
Otsuka, Shotaro; Tempkin, Jeremy O B; Zhang, Wanlu; Politi, Antonio Z; Rybina, Arina; Hossain, M Julius; Kueblbeck, Moritz; Callegari, Andrea; Koch, Birgit; Morero, Natalia Rosalia; Sali, Andrej; Ellenberg, Jan
A mitotic chromatin phase transition prevents perforation by microtubules.
Schneider, Maximilian W G; Gibson, Bryan A; Otsuka, Shotaro; Spicer, Maximilian F D; Petrovic, Mina; Blaukopf, Claudia; Langer, Christoph C H; Batty, Paul; Nagaraju, Thejaswi; Doolittle, Lynda K; Rosen, Michael K; Gerlich, Daniel W
Postmitotic nuclear pore assembly proceeds by radial dilation of small membrane openings.
Otsuka, Shotaro; Steyer, Anna M; Schorb, Martin; Hériché, Jean-Karim; Hossain, M Julius; Sethi, Suruchi; Kueblbeck, Moritz; Schwab, Yannick; Beck, Martin; Ellenberg, Jan
This is a collaboration project with Daniel Gerlich's group at IMBA.
Project title: “Elucidating the mechanics of mitotic chromosome assembly by light-, electron-, and atomic force microscopy"
The Otsuka Group participates in the special doctoral program 'Signaling Mechanisms in Cellular Homeostasis (SMICH)', funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
Austrian Academy of Sciences DOC Fellowship: Helena Bragulat Teixidor
Project title: “How do endoplasmic reticulum and nucleus communicate?" (P 36743-B)
'Multi-chamber cardioids unravel human heart development and cardiac defects
Origin and evolution of a defensive symbiosis in tortoise leaf beetles
Capturing conformational transitions in the ubiquitin conjugation cascade
18th Microsymposium on RNA Biology
The „Microsymposium on RNA Biology“ is an international conference that brings together young scientists, junior and senior group leaders, and company representatives from all over the world to present and discuss their latest findings in the exciting field of small RNAs and beyond. The Microsymposium was founded in 2005 and has established itself as the major small RNA meeting in Europe. It is organized by the four research institutions IMBA, IMP, GMI and the Max Perutz Labs as well as by the RNA community of the Vienna BioCenter.
Transformation Reactions of Organic Contaminants and Oxygen: From Field Sites to Reaction Mechanisms
Title to be announced
Multiscale plant bioimaging using advanced microscopy
Parthenogenesis, cryptobiosis, and the survival in extreme environmental conditions
Evading ageing: Mitochondrial and proteostatic adaptations in oocytes
Genomes in Rhodnius prolixus symbiotic system
Stem cells, immune evasion and metastasis in colorectal cancer
Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium 2024
The Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium is an annual international meeting taking place in the beautiful capital of Austria, aiming to bring together scholars from various fields studying ubiquitin/Ubl biology and protein degradation in a personal, family-like atmosphere, as suggested by the name.
The evolution and development of mollusc shells
Unraveling the Complexity of Crossover Regulation in C. elegans
Dynamics of 3D Genome Structure and Function
How superworms can help to solve our plastic waste crisis
New players in an old pathway: biology of methanogens of the TACK superphylum
Shaping morphogen gradients: from molecules to tissues and back
Studying stressed cells by in situ structural biology
Exploring Microbial Resilience: Unravelling Escherichia coliand#x27;s Stress Response at the Level of Protein Synthesis
Arbuscular mycorrhiza development and function
Deep homology and deep diversity: Evolving genetic toolkits for making and sensing light
The evolution of cell type identity and tissue microecology at the fetal-maternal interface
The unanticipated roles of PICIs and phages in bacterial evolution
Chemical targeting of subcellular protein localization
Origin and diversification of gut-derived organs in chordates
Job's Dilemma for the Genome: Why Bad Things Happen to Good Chromosomes
Connections between carbon and nitrogen cycling in the ocean
Understanding how the DNA-loop-extruding protein complex Condensin folds a chromatinized genome into mitotic chromosomes
From Roads to Rivers? Occurrence and environmental fate of tire and road wear particles and of tire-related chemicals
FENS 2024 Satellite event: Home cage behavior monitoring at the interface of animal welfare and neuroscience
Striking physiology and cell biology of (marine) environmental microorganisms
Mechanisms controlling maintenance of cohesin dependent loops
Title to be announced