Tom Dubois

The use of fluorescent proteins as genetically encoded tags has provided unprecedented insight into the dynamics underlying cellular processes. However, fluorescent proteins tend to be unstable at high temperatures, limiting their use in thermophilic organisms such as the TACK archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. As part of my PhD, I aim to evolve more thermostable fluorescent proteins. These tools will then allow me to study the regulation of cell division in Sulfolobus, for example by tagging components of the division machinery for live-cell imaging or by developing fluorescence-based screens to uncover new regulators of cell cycle control.