Abstract
How is the characteristic shape of a membrane-bound organelle achieved? The speaker and his research group have addressed the mechanism for the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an organelle at which many proteins are synthesized, including secretory and plasma membrane proteins. The ER consists of different domains, the nuclear envelope and the peripheral ER that contains a tubular network with interdispersed sheets. How these domains are generated has been mysterious. The group has discovered proteins that shape the tubules and others that allow them to fuse to form a network. They also found mechanisms by which the sheets are generated and discovered that sheets are stacked on top of each other in a manner that resembles a parking garage.
About the speaker
Prof Tom Rapoport received his PhD from Humboldt University, Berlin in 1972. He was Professor of Cell Biology at the Academy of Sciences of East Germany and later at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. He was appointed as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator in 1997. He joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in 1995 and is currently Professor of Cell Biology.
Prof Rapoport's research interest is in the mechanism by which proteins are transported across membranes and how organelles form and maintain their characteristic shapes. He is a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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