Regulation and role in signalling of plasma membrane and lysosomal transporters in yeast and more complex cells
Membrane transporters play a crucial metabolic role in all cells and their dysfunction causes diverse diseases. Our main interest is to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the physiological regulation of these proteins. We also study the ability of transporters to trigger signaling. Our cellular model is the yeast S. cerevisiae and we extended some of our studies to human and plant cells.
One of our main current interests is the functional links between membrane transporters and the TOR kinase complex 1 (TORC1) controlling cellular growth and that is often deregulated in cancer cells.
On-going projects of the lab are concerned with :
– Role of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase in TORC1 control
– Study of a novel TORC1 activation pathway responding to key nutritional metabolites
– Study of vacuolar amino acid transporters and their relationships with TORC1
– Amino acid excretion by yeast : mechanisms and industrial applications
– Role of TORC1 in ubiquitylation and endocytosis of amino acid transporters