Rock Lab
This lab studies the remarkable protein machines that drive biological motion, cell morphology, and the organization of subcellular structures. Combining tools from single molecule biophysics, structural biology, and cell biology, they build complex motile systems from individual parts, measure the forces that they generate, and identify the structural basis for their regulation. They also map biological motions to discover new self-organization rules in a range of cell types. Their discoveries guide efforts to reprogram motility within the cell.
Ron Rock
Urszula Cichoń
Krystyna Tesak
Daniel Jankowski
Julia Shangguan
Recent
Design and Use of AsLOV2-Based Optogenetic Tools for Actin Imaging (2024)
Here, scholars present protocols for using an optogenetic tool called LILAC for actin imaging. LILAC is a light-controlled version of Lifeact that uses the Avena sativa LOV2 (AsLOV2) domain. By significantly reducing Lifeact’s affinity for the cytoskeleton in the dark, LILAC reduces concentration-dependent negative side effects while enabling new image processing methods. They discuss the considerations for using this probe of live-cell actin dynamics, including fluorescent protein selection, cell maintenance, microscopy protocols, and image processing. Their work highlights the potential of AsLOV2-based optogenetics for novel imaging and control tools in cell biology.
Hundreds of myosin 10s are pushed to the tips of filopodia and could cause traffic jams on actin (2024)
Although Myo10-driven filopodial dynamics have been characterized, there is no information about the absolute number of Myo10 molecules during the filopodial lifecycle. To better understand molecular stoichiometries and packing restraints in filopodia, researchers measured Myo10 abundance in these structures in this paper.
LILAC: enhanced actin imaging with an optogenetic Lifeact (2023)
Lifeact is a popular peptide-based label of actin filaments in live cells. They have designed an improved Lifeact variant, LILAC, that binds to actin in light using the LOV2 protein. Light control allows the user to modulate actin labeling, enabling image analysis that leverages modulation for an enhanced view of F-actin dynamics in cells. Furthermore, the tool reduces actin perturbations and cell sickness caused by Lifeact overexpression.
Navigation of Mysion-10
The Rock lab has found that myosin-10 selects fascin-actin bundles for mobility. Also, that it can read the local actin structure and use that information to navigate the cell.
However, an important question still remains: How does myosin-10 assemble into an antiparallel structure in a cargo-regulated manner?
The Rock lab is currently examining this topic!
