RESEARCH

Our research is focused on the biogenesis of the Golgi apparatus in mammalian cells. In particular, we are interested in the regulation of the growth and division of the Golgi apparatus. During the cell cycle the single copy of the Golgi apparatus has to grow in interphase and then be equally divided into the two daughter cells during cell division. At the onset of mitosis the Golgi complex breaks down into vesicles, which are partitioned equally between the two daughter cells where they subsequently fuse to form a new Golgi apparatus.

We could show that treatments such as Brefeldin A (BFA) that interfere with vesicle transport between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi complex induce redistribution of Golgi enzymes into the ER, leaving behind a matrix of Golgi structural proteins and remnant vesicles. This enzyme-depleted Golgi matrix can form and maintain the higher order structure that resembles the intact organelle. Furthermore, the matrix is partitioned normally between daughter cells during mitosis suggesting that it can constitute the Golgi apparatus proper, responsible for its growth and division. Our focus is to characterize this process and the proteins that make up the Golgi matrix in order to understand its role in determining the structure of the Golgi apparatus and its biogenesis.