Berl Oakley

Focus

Mitosis and the microtubule cytoskeleton

Research interests

My major research interest is the microtubule cytoskeleton, which is essential for mitosis, meiosis, the maintenance of cell shape and many forms of motility. My lab is using a combination of genetic, molecular genetic, morphological and biochemical techniques to study these phenomena in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans and in other organisms.

Our most notable discovery has been gamma tubulin, a protein that is related to the major microtubule proteins alpha and beta tubulin. Gamma tubulin is present in all eukaryotes and is located at microtubule organizing centers. We have demonstrated that gamma tubulin is essential for viability and plays a central role in the nucleation of microtubule spindle microtubules. We are currently investigating other aspects of gamma tubulin function including the role of gamma tubulin in mitotic progression and in regulating microtubule dynamics.