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Research Areas

Cell biology
Organelle assembly and function
Evolution of complexity
Adaptive cellular traits
Fungal biotechnology
Marine cell biology

Research summary

Discover-directed research
The group develops unconventional model systems to reveal hitherto unrecognized aspects of cellular organization. We are especially interested in adaptive cellular traits based on high-order protein assemblies and organelles. The group fuels discovery with biochemical purification, mass spectrometry and comparative genomics. Many of the proteins we study are restricted to a group of related species. However, upon investigation they are frequently found to function through connections with ancient and conserved components of the cell. Thus, our work is predisposed to revealing fundamental principles of cellular organization, while also uncovering new protein activities. Approaching cell biology through the lens of evolution further creates opportunities to identify new problems or approach long-standing problems from new directions.

Strategic research
As the global population grows to a projected 9.8 billion in 2050, overall food demand is on course to increase by more than 50 percent. Technological innovations that raise food production efficiency and productivity without expanding agricultural land are a key to meeting this challenge in a sustainable manner1. In soil ecology, multicellular fungi play a pivotal role in plant decomposition and soil nutrient cycling. We are working to harness this power under controlled conditions to convert plant food production waste into added value nutritional products. This work leverages our 15 years of experience with the genetics, cell biology and physiology of multicellular fungi.    1World Resource Institute

Selected Publications

1. Nguyen TA, Greig J, Khan A, Goh C, Jedd G. (2018) Evolutionary novelty in gravity sensing through horizontal gene transfer and high-order protein assembly. PLoS Biology 16(4): e2004920.

2. Nguyen TA, Cissé OH, Wong JY, Zheng P, Hewitt D, Nowrousian M, Stajich JE, Jedd G. (2017) Innovation and constraint leading to complex multicellularity in the Ascomycota. Nature Communications. doi:10.1038/ncomms14444

3. Pieuchot L, Lai J, Loh RA, Leong F, Chiam K-H, Stajich J, Jedd G. (2015) Cellular subcompartments through cytoplasmic streaming. Developmental Cell. 34: 410-420

4. Chen Y, Pieuch L, Loh RA, Yang J, Kari T, Wong JY, Jedd G. (2014) Hydrophobic handoff for direct delivery of peroxisome tail-anchored proteins. Nature Communications. 5 : 5790-5802

5. Liu F, Lu Y, Pieuchot L, Dhavale T, Jedd G. (2011) Import oligomers induce positive feedback to promote peroxisome differentiation and control organelle abundance. Developmental Cell. 21: 457-468