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Education

1984 - 1987

B.Sc. Ben Gurion University of

the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Cum Laude

1987 - 1990

M.Sc Ben Gurion University of

the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

Department of Chemistry , Summa Cum Laude. Adviser: Prof. Zvi Priel. Title of thesis: The properties of the metachronal wave

1990 - 1995

Ph.D. Ben Gurion University of

the Negev, beer Sheva, Israel

Department of Chemistry. Adviser: Prof. Zvi Priel. Thesis title: Full characterization of mucociliary activity in vitro

Prof. Leah Gheber research lab

Kinesin motors and dynamics of cell division

Mitotic chromosome segregation is an essential process by which duplicated genomic information is transferred from mother to daughter cells. This process is accomplished by the spindle, a highly dynamic, microtubule (MT)-based structure. In each mitotic cycle the spindle undergoes a well-programmed set of morphological changes coordinated in time and in space. Molecular motors from the kinesin superfamily, which bind and move along MTs by hydrolyzing ATP, play central roles in mediating spindle dynamics. Our long-term goal is to understand how kinesin-related motor proteins perform their multiple mitotic functions and how is their activity regulated. To achieve this goal, we combine biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, molecular biology and genetics to study mitotic kinesin motor functions and regulation. 

 

In recent years, our research has focused on the bipolar kinesin-5 motor proteins that are among the essential elements mediating the dynamics of the mitotic spindle. Kinesin- 5 motors crosslink and slide apart antiparallel MTs within the mitotic spindle, and by their plus-end directed motility on the two MTs that they crosslink, they provide an outwardly directed force that separates the spindle poles apart. Remarkably, two previous reports, one of them from our laboratory, have shown that Cin8, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae kinesin-5 motor, is bi-directional, i.e., it can move in the plus- and minus-end directions on the MTs and switch directionality under different experimental conditions. These findings were highly unexpected for two reasons: a) kinesin-5 motors carry their catalytic domain at the amino-terminus and such motors were therefore previously believed to be exclusively plus-end directed; b) in general, it was commonly held that kinesin motors are either plus- or minus-end directed, but not both, although Cin8 was demonstrated to move in two directions. Subsequent studies, including one from our laboratory, reported that two other kinesin-5 homologs are bi-directional. Taken together, these reports suggest that the bi-directional motility of some kinesin-5 motors may be functionally important. However, the mechanism, regulation, and physiological role of this bi-directional motility are yet to be established. Research in our laboratory over the last years has aimed at deciphering these unanswered questions.

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Prof. Leah Gheber

Department of Chemistry, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel

+972-74-779-5483

lgheber@bgu.ac.il

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