Ready for creative research to tackle key questions on biological membranes? Want to join us as a Post-doc and dive into groundbreaking scientific exploration? Apply now!
Your job In this NWO-funded project, you will investigate the regulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Acc1) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) in establishing the average acyl chain length of membrane lipids in yeast.
Proper function of membranes and membrane proteins critically depends on the regulation of the fluidity (viscosity) of the membrane’s lipid matrix. In response to e.g. a change of the ambient temperature, the model eukaryote
S. cerevisiae adjusts the fluidity of its membranes by tuning the level of unsaturation and the average length of the membrane lipid acyl chains. Whereas the mechanism of the former has been solved, the regulation of acyl chain length remains a mystery, although this more subtle mechanism may be equally important for membrane function. Your project will address this challenging fundamental question at the interface of yeast genetics, cell biology, and membrane biochemistry and biophysics.
You will investigate the regulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Acc1) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) in establishing the average acyl chain length of membrane lipids in yeast. In fatty acid synthesis, Acc1 synthesises malonyl-CoA that is iteratively consumed by FAS in producing C16 or C18 fatty acyl-CoA. Based on data obtained by us and others, we hypothesise that the C16/C18 ratio of the acyl-CoA produced is determined by the relative activities of these 2 key enzymes, i.e. increased activity of Acc1
vs. FAS favors a rise in C18 over C16 and
vice versa.
You will investigate how yeast regulates Acc1
vs. FAS activity by designing and engineering a set of mutants, and applying a range of biochemical, genetic, -omics, and (fluorescence) microscopy approaches to uncover the underlying mechanisms.
Your tasks and responsibilities will include:
- conducting independent research in the regulation of yeast membrane lipid composition, resulting in academic publications in peer-reviewed international journals;
- supervising Bachelor's and Master's thesis projects with topics relevant to your project;