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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Iqgap Family Members In Yeast, Dictyostelium, And Mammalian Cells, Katie Shannon Oct 2012

Iqgap Family Members In Yeast, Dictyostelium, And Mammalian Cells, Katie Shannon

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

IQGAPs are a family of scaffolding proteins with multiple domains, named for the IQ motifs and GTPase activating protein (GAP) related domains. Despite their GAP homology, IQGAP proteins act as effectors for GTP-bound GTPases of the Ras superfamily and do not stimulate GTP hydrolysis. IQGAPs are found in eukaryotic cells from yeast to human, and localize to actin-containing structures such as lamellipodia, membrane ruffles, cell-cell adhesions, phagocytic cups, and the actomyosin ring formed during cytokinesis. Mammalian IQGAPs also act as scaffolds for signaling pathways. IQGAPs perform their myriad functions through association with a large number of proteins including filamentous actin …


The Role Of Actin Binding Proteins In Cell Motility, Elizabeth Ojukwu May 2012

The Role Of Actin Binding Proteins In Cell Motility, Elizabeth Ojukwu

Honors Scholar Theses

Actin binding proteins (ABPs) play key roles in the dynamic organization of the actin cytoskeleton during cell movement. The general localization of ABPs during dynamic cellular processes has been characterized. However, their specific functions and mechanisms of regulating the cytoskeleton during motile cellular processes remain unclear. Two approaches have been utilized to ask how these proteins contribute to cytoskeletal function during motility. Using homologous recombination, mutant cell lines lacking α-actinin, fimbrin or both proteins have been created. By analyzing mutants that lack these proteins, we hope to disrupt processes that require a functional cytoskeleton such as phagocytosis, random motility, development, …


Mind The Gap: A Comparative Study Of Migratory Behavior In Social Amoebae, Owen M. Gilbert, Jennie J. Kuzdzal-Fick, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann Jan 2012

Mind The Gap: A Comparative Study Of Migratory Behavior In Social Amoebae, Owen M. Gilbert, Jennie J. Kuzdzal-Fick, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Social amoebae aggregate to form a multicellular slug that migrates some distance. Most species produce a stalk during migration, but some do not. We show that Dictyostelium giganteum, a species that produces stalk during migration, is able to traverse small gaps and utilize bacterial resources following gap traversal by shedding live cells. In contrast, we found that Dictyostelium discoideum, a species that does not produce stalk during migration, can traverse gaps only when in the presence of other species’ stalks or other thin filaments. These findings suggest that production of stalk during migration allows traversal of gaps that commonly occurs …