Project at a glance

Structural mechanisms governing centriole assembly

The centriole composes the centrosome in animal cells and can act as a basal body to template cilia or flagella in many eukaryotes. Centrioles are critical for the proper execution of several important biological processes, such as spindle assembly and cell signaling through the primary cilium as well as cells and fluids motion thanks to motile cilia/flagella. Therefore, centriolar defects have been associated to several pathologies including ciliopathies, sterility, microcephaly and cancer.

The lab focuses on deciphering the structural mechanisms governing centriole assembly. To this end, we are combining the use of cell biology methods, in vitro reconstitution assays and state-of-the art imaging technologies to gain decisive insights into these mechanisms.