Systems-level Robustness in the Cellular Organelle Network

Biological systems are made up of subsystems that range from molecules to large networks. A paradigmatic example of such a complex system is the eukaryotic cell, which has subsystems ranging from microscopic to mesoscopic length scales. A defining feature of the eukaryotic cell is its organization of membrane bound compartments called organelles. These organelles make up a dynamic network within the cell and are constantly interacting with one another. The interaction between different organelles is vital for a lot of cellular processes, such as calcium signaling and lipid exchange. A major class of interaction that organelles have are organelle contact sites (OCSs). Organelle contact sites are protein tethers that keep two different types of organelles in close proximity. They have many functions including exchanging of small molecules, controlling cellular landscape, and signaling.

My aim is to understand how robust the biophysical architecture and physiology of the cell is to perturbation in the organelle network by directly measuring the impact of the organelle network disruption on organelle composition and metabolic flows in the model system Saccharomyces cerevisiae.