The evolution and specification of the cytoskeletal networks

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The eukaryotic cytoskeleton converts molecular signals into cellular responses including cell motility, cell division, and morphogenesis. These responses stem from biophysical forces produced by dynamic actin and microtubule polymer networks. Although actin and tubulin themselves are highly conserved, the networks they build vary wildly between cell types and species. This variability allows cells to adopt different forms and functions, giving rise to phenotypic diversity at the organismal level. This concept raises two intertwined questions that we seek to answer: How does the cytoskeleton evolve and diversify across phyla? And how does cytoskeletal evolution drive phenotypic diversification? To answer these questions, we must understand the cell biology of diverse species at the molecular level. We develop genetic tools to study the cytoskeletal biology of historically neglected phyla. We are currently focusing on two lineages that occupy pivotal positions on the eukaryotic tree, have remarkable cytoskeletal biology, and are important for human health and global ecology. One is the “brain-eating amoeba” Naegleria, which has evolved two microtubule networks encoded by different genes that are used for distinct functions. We are using Naegleria to explore how microtubule networks diversify after they specialize in function. We are also studying the frog-killing chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis that is decimating global amphibian populations. This fungus alternates every generation between two forms: a sessile yeast-like form with chitin cell walls and an animal-like cell that rapidly crawls across surfaces using actin-based motility. We are using chytrids to determine how cytoskeletal evolution drove the diversification of immotile fungi from a motile ancestor. In addition to probing key events in cytoskeletal