Pucadyil Lab
Membrane fission proteins and their functions in physiology
Cell membranes are formed by the spontaneous self-assembly of amphipathic lipids into a 5 nanometer-thin bilayer sheet. Membranes have unique mechanical properties. Foremost among them is their stability to bending, fission and vesiculation. This property lies at the heart of evolution choosing lipids as the material to contain life within cells and viruses choosing the same material to contain their genetic material. But cells have also evolved mechanisms to compartmentalise their cytoplasm into vesicles and organelles, and viruses appear to have subverted this same process towards packaging their genetic material and budding out of host cells. Vesiculation requires active bending and fission of the membrane - processes that are managed by specialised protein machines. At the Pucadyil Lab, we identify such protein machines and understand the physiological context of their functions.
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, INDIA