Actin dynamics research group
Group leader
Beáta Bugyi
Senior researchers
Andrea Vig
Mónika Ágnes Tóth
PhD students
Péter Gaszler
Rauan Sakenov
Réka Pintér
TDK/Undergraduate Research Societies’ students
Dániel Held-Baller, UP Faculty of Pharmacy, Biotechnology BSc program
Natália Botka, UP Faculty of Pharmacy, Biotechnology BSc program
Verica Krstevska, UP Faculty of Pharmacy, Biotechnology BSc program
Fruzsina Dóra Szász, UP Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical program
Tony Wesely, UP Faculty of Medicine, General Medicine, German program
Illés Csonka, Nagy Lajos High School of the Cistercian Order
Contact us
Research interest
The actin cytoskeleton as a structural and functional unit of cells plays essential roles in virtually all cellular processes. Its functioning relies on the large inventory of actin-binding proteins and their functional couplings. Central to our research, we investigate the mechanisms underlying the functioning of the actin cytoskeleton by studying the structural features, activities and interactions of actin and actin-binding proteins.
(1) Mechanisms governing the assembly of thin filaments
The formation of striated muscle sarcomeres requires the assembly of new actin filaments, however, the origin of actin filaments and the molecular elements that regulate their dynamics are poorly known.
(1.1) DAAM subfamily formins, known actin assembly factors of non-muscle cells, play an important role in the assembly of sarcomeric actin filaments,
(1.2) SALS promotes the elongation of sarcomeric actin filaments.
We aim to dissect the structural properties and activities of DAAM and SALS, as well as their interactions with each other and with the known regulators of the thin filament (e.g. CP, Tmod, Tpm). Our experimental approach can explore the molecular relationships that regulate the organization of sarcomeric thin filaments, thus contributing to a better understanding of various diseases of muscle origin.
(2) Functional coordination of actin-microtubule cytoskeleton dynamics
Emerging evidence emphasizes that the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton are not independent but functionally linked by associated proteins. This is essential, for example, in the regulation of axonal growth and navigation, thus in the proper functioning of neurons and the nervous system. The repertoire of proteins involved in the coordination of actin-microtubule dynamics is expanding, but in many cases, their mechanism of action is not known.
(2.1) DAAM subfamily formins, classic actin-associated proteins, can simultaneously bind to the two cytoskeletal polymers, actin, and microtubules, which is of biological significance in the functioning of the axonal cytoskeleton.
We aim to investigate the activities and molecular interactions of DAAM in the functional coordination of the two cytoskeletal polymers. Given that DAAM is involved in neurological disorders, this biological problem may have biomedical potential.
(3) Liquid-liquid phase separation in the function of cytoskeleton-associated proteins
In addition to membrane-bound cell organelles, membrane-less organelles are also receiving more and more attention. The membraneless condensates, which typically adopt a droplet-like shape, are formed from proteins and/or DNA. The formation of such organelles can occur through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). The formation of condensates depends on the given molecule and the biochemical milieu (e.g. pH, ionic strength, concentration, interacting partner).
Our aim is to investigate the phase separation properties of actin/microtubule associated proteins (e.g. EB1), the underlying structural principles and their functional consequences.
Hands-on expertise
Protein expression and purification (recombinant – E.coli and from tissue), protein biophysical and biochemical approaches, fluorescent modification of proteins, spectroscopy (UV-VIS absorption, steady-state and time-dependent fluorescence), light- and fluorescence microscopy (total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy), gel electrophoresis, Western blot, liquid chromatography (size-exclusion and affinity chromatography), sedimentation (preparative centrifugation), bioinformatics, image analysis, statistics.
National and international collaborations
József Mihály, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Institute of Genetics, Szeged, Hungary
János Erostyák, UP Faculty of Sciences, Department of Physics, Pécs, Hungary
Inari Kursula, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland/University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Alf Månsson, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
Robert C. Robinson, Okoyama University, Japan
Selected publications
Vemula Venukumar, Huber Tamás, Ušaj Marko, Bugyi Beáta ✉, Mansson Alf ✉
Myosin and gelsolin cooperate in actin filament severing and actomyosin motor activity
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 296 Paper: 100181, 16 p. (2021)
Bugyi Beáta ✉, Kellermayer Miklós ✉
The discovery of actin: “to see what everyone else has seen, and to think what nobody has thought”
JOURNAL OF MUSCLE RESEARCH AND CELL MOTILITY 41: 1 pp. 3-9., 7 p. (2020)
Pintér Réka, Huber Tamás, Bukovics Péter, Gaszler Péter, Vig Andrea Teréz, Tóth Mónika Ágnes, Gazsó-Gerhát Gabriella, Farkas Dávid, Migh Ede, Mihály József, Bugyi Beáta ✉
The activities of the gelsolin homology domains of Flightless-I in actin dynamics
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES 7 Paper: 575077, 18 p. (2020)
Vig Andrea Teréz, Földi István, Szikora Szilárd, Migh Ede, Gombos Rita, Tóth Mónika Ágnes, Huber Tamás, Pintér Réka, Talián Csaba Gábor, Mihály József, Bugyi Beáta ✉
The activities of the c-terminal regions of the formin protein disheveled-associated activator of morphogenesis (DAAM) in actin dynamics
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 292 : 33 pp. 13566-13583., 18 p. (2017)
Tóth Mónika Ágnes, Majoros Andrea Kinga, Vig Andrea Teréz, Migh Ede, Nyitrai Miklós, Mihály József, Bugyi Beáta ✉
Biochemical activities of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome homology region 2 domains of sarcomere length short
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 291 : 2 pp. 667-680., 14 p. (2016)
Alumni
Tamás Huber, postdoctoral researcher (2010 – 2023)
Veronika Takács-Kollár, postdoctoral researcher (2016 – 2023)
Péter Bukovics, postdoctoral researcher (2020 – 2022)
Budiman Hanifatul Rahmah, TDK student, UP MS Biotechnology MSc program (2020 – 2021)
Judit Fórizs, TDK student, UP MS Biotechnology MSc program (2015 – 2017)
Andrea Majoros, TDK student, UP MS Biotechnology MSc program (2015 – 2017)