Genes and mechanisms required for cell growth

Cell growth in multicellular organisms is a complex process which requires co-ordinated action of the biosynthetic machinery with the extracellular nutrient levels and with the requirements of the neighbouring cells. Uncontrolled growth is a hallmark of all cancers, thus understanding growth regulation is of prime importance. In Drosophila, we have good knowledge of the genes involved in growth processes through genome-scale RNAi experiments [1]. In classical genetics, loss-of-function experiments are often complemented by gain-of-function, i.e., overexpression studies, which can be performed in a high-throughput format, such as with the human kinome cDNA collection [2]. The aim of the PhD project is to characterise the function of a novel gene affecting cell size using Drosophila and mammalian cell culture models. The aim is to understand how this gene links to cell size regulation and cell cycle progression. The main tools used are RNA interference and chemical genetics in combination with flow cytometry for dissecting the role of these gene in cell size control.