Bionanoscience (BN) seminar by prof.dr. Dolf Weijers (Wageningen University & Research) on "Towards the design principles of cell polarity".  The talk will start at 12:30h, and lunch is provided.

Abstract: Cells have the intrinsic capacity to polarize along axes. In single-celled organisms, polarization is important for migration and division, while in multicellular organisms, it underlies 3D development. While all multicellular organisms rely on cell polarity, their last common ancestor was unicellular. Hence, it is unclear whether there are common principles, either shared by ancestry, or by convergent evolution, across lineages. Our team focuses on the fundamental mechanisms underlying multicellular development in the plant kingdom. We have recently discovered a key component of cellular polarity in plants, and found that this proteins – SOSEKI – structurally and functionally resembles a key animal cell polarity protein. Through structural, functional and comparative approaches, we find that protein polymerization is a shared principle underlying cell polarization across kingdoms. This highlights the importance of deep evolutionary and comparative approaches towards understanding core biochemical and biophysical principles underlying the organization of cells in a multicellular context. I will present our recent progress in exploring core principles in cell polarity.