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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 39: Optogenetics for the Cytoskeleton - Focus Session organized by Ulrich Schwarz

BP 39.4: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 22. März 2017, 10:45–11:00, SCH A251

Optogenetic manipulation of membrane signaling and cytoskeletal dynamics in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum — •Sven Flemming, Kirsten Sachse, and Carsten Beta — University Potsdam, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Potsdam, Germany

Motile cells such as macrophages, mesenchymal stem cells, or cancer cells show complex spatiotemporal pattern formation in the actin cytoskeleton. These patterns can be influenced by external cues such as chemoattractant signals, which lead to directed movement but can also occur without an external stimulus, for example as self-sustained actin oscillations or waves. We use the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum as a model organism to elucidate how different components of the signaling pathways contribute to these dynamics. To this end, we establish an optogenetic approach to recruit downstream targets of cAMP signaling — agonists as well as antagonists of actin polymerization — to distinct areas of the plasma membrane. We will show to what extent these downstream targets affect the actin dynamics in the targeted regions and will use successful constructs for the mechanistic characterization of dynamic actin structures. Ultimately, our approach will allow us to manipulate and control the formation of complex spatiotemporal actin patterns in the cell cortex.