Yin-Wei (Kris) Kuo

I studied chemistry during my undergrad at National Taiwan University. I received my PhD in biophysical chemistry from Yale University in 2020 where I used in vitro reconstitution systems to understand the physical properties and the dynamic regulation of cytoskeletal polymers. I am interested in understanding the chemical and physical principles that govern the proliferation and division of individual cells. My current research focuses on understanding how ancient molecular machines operate in archaea cells to ensure the correct cell division and maintain a functional cellular proteome. Outside the lab, I enjoy watching anime, singing and listening music.

Publications

Luchniak A.*, Kuo Y.-W.*, McGuinness C., Sutradhar S., Orbach R., Mahamdeh M., Howard J.: “Dynamic microtubules slow down during their shrinkage phase”, bioRxiv 2022.07.27.501773; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.27.501773.

Kuo Y.-W., Mahamdeh M., Tuna Y., Howard J.: “The force required to remove tubulin from the microtubule lattice by pulling on its α-tubulin C-terminal tail”, Nat Comm., 2022 Jun 25;13(1):3651. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31069-x.

Liao M.*, Kuo Y.-W.*, Howard J.: “Counting fluorescently labeled proteins in tissues in the spinning disk microscope using single-molecule calibrations”, Mol Biol Cell., 2022 May 15;33(6):ar48. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E21-12-0618.

Kuo Y.-W., Howard J.: “In vitro reconstitution of microtubule dynamics and severing imaged by label-free interference reflection microscopy”, Methods Mol Biol., 2022; 2430:73-91. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1983-4_5

Al-Hiyasat A., Tuna Y., Kuo Y.-W., Howard J.: “Herding of proteins by the ends of shrinking polymers”, arXiv., Dec 2021, DOI: arXiv:2112.07757

Rao Q., Han L., Wang Y., Chai P., Kuo Y.-W., Yang R., Hu F., Yang Y., Howard J., Zhang K.: “Structures of outer-arm dynein array on microtubule doublet reveal a motor coordination mechanism”, Nat Struct Mol Biol., Oct 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41594-021-00656-9

Kuo Y.-W., Howard J.: “Cutting, amplifying and aligning microtubules with severing enzymes”, Trends Cell Biol., Jan 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2020.10.004

Kuo Y.-W.*, Trottier O.*, Howard J.: “Predicted effects of severing enzymes on the length distribution and total mass of microtubules”, Biophys J. Dec 2019, DOI:10.1016/j.bpj.2019.10.027.

Kuo Y.-W., Trottier O., Mahamdeh M., Howard J.: “Spastin is a dual-function enzyme that severs microtubules and promotes their regrowth to increase the number and mass of microtubules”, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA Mar 2019, 201818824; DOI:10.1073/pnas.1818824116