Rasmussen and colleagues discovered the protein called TANGLED1 performs this microtubule controlling function by binding microtubules together like glue. Their description of how TANGLED1 operates was published in the Journal of Cell Biology.

New interdisciplinary research published in the Journal of Cell Biology from Associate Professor and plant cell biologist Carolyn Rasmussen’s group describes how the plant protein TANGLED 1 is needed to accurately position the new cell wall that forms at the end of cell division. The authors combine live-cell imaging and in vitro analyses to better understand how TANGLED 1 binds to microtubules to position the new cell wall during cell division. First author Pablo Martinez was a Ford Fellow and is currently an HHMI Hana Gray postdoctoral fellow at UCLA. Undergraduates acknowledged in this project include Jocelyne Aranda (UCR), Sukhmani Sidhu (UCR) and Christoper Hoyt (Harvey Mudd/CEPCEB NSF REU).

Other undergraduates interested in research with Professor Rasmussen should check out our U-SPARC and CEPCEB NSF REU programs.

Read the UCR News report here.