Description du sujet de thèse

Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the skeleton of the cell. During cell division, they enable chromosomes to separate in the two daughter cells. If their action is defective, cell division may be inaccurate or even be impaired. The KIF2C protein, capable of disassembling (or depolymerizing) microtubules, is present in excess in certain tumor cells, including paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cells. My team recently discovered that this protein is capable of forming highly concentrated droplets attached to microtubules. These droplets, also known as condensates, increase the number of KIF2C molecules locally and stimulate its microtubule-depolymerizing action. We hypothesized that disrupting the formation of these KIF2C condensates could diminish its action during cell division, and thus counteract the emergence of taxane resistance in cancers. With this in mind, I chose to (i) explore the KIF2C interactome in mitosis, in order to decipher the mechanisms of KIF2C condensation, (ii) identify the partners of KIF2C within these condensates, and (iii) reveal what role these condensates play in spindle organization, MT-k attachment and the control of spindle assembly.

Contexte de travail

The PhD student will be assigned to the I2BC, a very large joint research unit created on January 1, 2015, under the supervision of CNRS, CEA and Université Paris Saclay. It will be based at the Gif and Saclay sites until 2025. The unit has an average headcount of almost 650, divided between 5 scientific departments, 60 research teams, 17 high-level technology platforms and support services. He will be working in the Nuclear Envelope, Telomeres and DNA Repair team located at Gif sur Yvette in building 24.