Post-doc : Systematic analysis of gene expression in single intact cells by high throughput detection of single mRNAs
Organization: Edouard Bertrand lab, IGMM - CNRS UMR 5535
Position Information:
Systematic analysis of gene expression in single intact cells by high throughput detection of single mRNAs
Characterizing gene expression at the level of single cells and in the context of the cellular space is a difficult challenge, but meeting it will certainly drive important conceptual breakthroughs. Single molecule FISH (smFISH) identifies and localizes all mRNA molecules produced by a given gene, in every cell of large populations. SmFISH thus possesses unique advantages to study mRNA localization at the sub-cellular level. This is a fundamental but understudied phenomenon, involved in many biological processes, including mitosis, cell polarity, co-translational assembly of protein complexes etc…
In this project, we aim at mixing traditional and innovative approaches to combine the power of traditional smFISH techniques with the systematic aspects of genome-wide approaches. We will collect high-resolution, high quality images of the localization of many mRNAs in native fixed cells. Our first goal will be to discriminate localized mRNA from randomly distributed ones. Our second goal will be to group localized mRNAs into functional categories, to understand the functions of this process at the cellular level. This project will be performed in collaboration with the image analysis group of C. Zimmer (Pasteur Institute).