From molecular live imaging to the energetics of intracellular superstructures in Chlamydomonas

Abstract

Decoding the intricate machinery that underlies all living systems presents one of the most interesting challenges in today's research. Many advances in that understanding stem from technological advances. I will elaborate on some examples of technological developments that have led to previously inaccessible insights: I will show how building a mechanical microscope from scratch offered me a level of process control, which I could harness to implement a new measurement modality that allowed the observation of the fragile self-assembly of single proteins. In a second part I will discuss how developing precision genome engineering with the CRISPR/Cas system in Chlamydomonas has been an enabling factor in our work on the structure and function of ciliary components and how it has made it possible to quantitatively measure the energetic differences of mutants with different motility phenotypes in the same genetic background.