Projects for PhD students will be decided by discussion with the student. Two examples of projects are described below. We are studying the function and regulation of polo kinase. Polo kinase is highly conserved from yeast to human and plays key roles in multiple processes of mitotic progression. The student will dissect polo kinase regulatory pathways in fission yeast by combining classical and molecular genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry.
Mitotic spindles consist of highly dynamic microtubules.
H. Ohkura, I. M. Hagan and D. M. Glover. The conserved Schizosaccharomyces pombe kinase plo1, required to form a bipolar spindle, the actin ring, and septum, can drive septum formation in G1 and G2 cells. D. M. Glover, H. Ohkura and A. Tavares. H. Ohkura, T. Torok, G. Tick, J. Hoheisel, I.Kiss and D. M. Glover. Mutation of a gene for a Drosophila kinesin like protein, Klp38B, leads to failure of cytokinesis.