Elucidating the role of STX19 in tissue morphogenesis using advanced bioimaging

Epithelial polarisation plays an important role in tissue morphogenesis and
perturbations in this process can lead to developmental defects and cause
cancer. My group has recently identified a novel vertebrate- and epithelialspecific
SNARE, STX19, that is required for the delivery of biosynthetic and
endocytic material to the cell surface. Using proteomics and yeast-two-hybrid
screening we have identified several novel, STX19 interacting partners that are
important players in establishing and maintaining epithelial polarity. It is our
hypothesis that STX19 plays a role in the delivery of cell polarity proteins to the
cell surface and is required for epithelial polarisation. To test this hypothesis
shRNA will be used to knock down STX19 and its interacting partners in 2 and
3D cell cultures models and epithelial polarisation visualized using structured
illumination microscopy. To asses the physiological role of STX19,
CRISPR/Cas9 will be also used to generate a STX19 knockout zebrafish and
organ development monitored using light sheet microscopy. Using both SIM and
light sheet microscopy will allow the processes which drive tissue development
to be visualised at an unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. This project
represents an exciting training opportunity where the student will become an
expert in advanced bioimaging, cell biology and animal physiology.