Zdenek Lansky Group

Networks of cytoskeletal filaments form the internal dynamic scaffold of cells. Remodeling of these networks underpins essential cellular processes, such as cell division. Our aim is to understand the physical principles governing the interplay of the individual elements of the networks and to explain how the individual elements mechanically cooperate to drive the network remodeling.

Our main experimental strategy is to reconstitute the cytoskeletal networks from individual components in vitro and explore them in a controlled environment. We use genetic manipulations and biochemical methods to purify the individual cytoskeletal components and combine them in a minimal model system in vitro. We use biophysical methods, such as force measurement and manipulation techniques with single molecule resolution in combination with single molecule imaging, to investigate the system's self-assembly and the system's response to external mechanical perturbations. We combine our experimental approach with mathematical modeling to generate a comprehensive mechanistic description of the investigated system.

FUTURE PROJECTS

Force generation within actin networks and the network's contractility is essential for example during cell division or within the cell cortex during development. This contractility is canonically attributed to myosin motor proteins. However, in multiple organisms these processes have been shown to be to various extent molecular motor independent. Our aim is to understand how are forces in cytoskeletal networks generated in the absence of active motor-generated forces. We are interested in the interplay of the motor-dependent and motor-independent contractility. We aim to decipher how the motor-dependent and motor-independent forces work in concert to drive the remodeling of membranes in processes such as cell division.