Denis Chrétien - Editorial Board Member

My main areas of interest concern the mechanisms by which microtubules assemble and perform their diverse functions in the cell. For this purpose, we isolate individual components engaged in the structure and regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton (tubulin, MAPs, centrosomes, axonemes...), and then study their interaction in systems reconstituted in vitro. The dynamic properties of these systems are followed by video-light microscopy, while their structure is characterized by cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional reconstructions. Correlation of the dynamic and structural data is performed using models developed in collaboration with theoretical physicists. At present, our main topics of research concern the molecular basis of microtubule dynamic instability, the mechanisms involved in the targeting of microtubule plus-end tracking proteins (+TIPs), and the structure of large macromolecular assemblies (centrosomes and axonemes). On the methodological side, we are developing light and electron correlative microscopy approaches (CLEM), and are engaged in the development of cryo-electron tomography and dedicated software for image analysis.