Prof. Maya Schuldiner

Functional Genomics of Organelles

A hallmark of eukaryotic cells is the presence of membrane-enclosed organelles that create optimized environments for chemical reactions required to sustain life. Although more than 20 years have passed since publication of the yeast genome sequence, over 30% of organelle proteins have never been studied and more than half do not have a known function. Most of these proteins are conserved all the way to humans and some have been implicated in diseases. We use novel methodologies to uncover the functions of these unstudied proteins, and to delineate pathways and networks that enable the function and communication of organelles.