3DRNA - Dynamics of the spatial organization of the transcriptome and its role in cellular functions
Project partners: J. A. Dieudonné Laboratory and The Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV)
The eukaryotic cells, apart from the canonical organelles bound to the membranes (nucleus, mitochondria, ...), also contain coherent structures with liquid properties that do not have a membrane. These membraneless bodies have been shown to contribute to a wide variety of cellular functions. Pathologically, they have also been correlated with severe neurological disorders (such as prion diseases, ALS, Alzheimer's disease). The study of membraneless bodies is a hot topic of research on the edge of biology and physics. We use mathematical modeling to help elucidate the interaction between active biological control and the thermodynamic processes that result in the formation and dilution of membrane-free bodies and evaluate their role in controlling cellular functions or disruption of cellular functions leading to pathologies.
Project start and end dates : November 2018 – November 2019