Balasubramanian Lab

Mohan Balasubramanian

Research Summary

Mohan Balasubramanian graduated in chemistry from Madras University in India and pursued a post-graduate program in microbiology and Biotechnology in Baroda, India. He carried out his Doctoral research at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, where he initiated his study of cell division in fission yeast. Following post-doctoral research at Vanderbilt University, USA, where he furthered his study of cell division, he joined the Institute of Molecular Agrobiology Singapore in 1997 and the Temasek LifeSciences Laboratory Singapore in 2002.

Research Interests

Cell Cycle Control
Cytokinesis
Mitosis
Morphogenesis
Cell Physiology
Yeast Genetics

Email: M dot K dot Balasubramanian at warwick dot ac dot uk

Selected Publications

Shao N, Singh NS, Slade SE, Jones AM, Balasubramanian MK (2015). Site Specific Genetic Incorporation of Azidophenylalanine in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. doi: 10.1038/srep17196 PubMed

Tao, E.Y., Calvert, M.E., and Balasubramanian, M.K. (2014). Rewiring Mid1p-Independent Medial Division in Fission Yeast: Current Biology. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.074. PubMed

Mishra, M., Kashiwazaki, J., Tagagi, T., Huang, Y., Srinivasan, R., Balasubramanian, M.K., and Mabuchi, I. (2013). In Vitro Contraction of Cytokinetic Ring Depends on Myosin II but not on Actin Dynamics. Nature Cell Biology 15: 853-859. PubMed

Huang, J., Huang, Y., Yu, H., Padmanabhan, A., Subramanian, D., Tao, Y., Thadani, R., Tang, X., Wedlich-Soldner, R., and Balasubramanian, M.K. (2012) Non-medially assembled F-actin cables incorporate into the actomyosin ring in fission yeast. J Cell Biology 199: 831-847. PubMed

Singh, N. S., Shao, N., Ren, L., Sevugan, M., McLean, J., Gang, T., Bimbo, A., Sharma, R., Tang, X., Gould, K., and Balasubramanian, M.K. (2011). The SIN inhibitory phosphatase complex (SIP) promotes Cdc11p dephosphorylation and propagates SIN-asymmetry in fission yeast. Current Biology. 21:1968-1979. PubMed

Padmanabhan, A., Bakka, K., Sevugan, M., Naqvi, N. I., D’souza, V., Tang, X., Mishra, M., and Balasubramanian, M.K. (2011) IQGAP-related Rng2p Organizes Cortical Nodes and Ensures Position of Cell Division in Fission Yeast. Current Biology 21: 467-472. PubMed

Ray, S., Kume, K., Gupta, S., Ge, W., Balasubramanian, M.K., Hirata, D., and McCollum, D. (2010). The mitosis to interphase transition is coordinated by crosstalk between the SIN and MOR signaling pathways in S. pombe. J Cell Biol. 190: 793-805. PubMed

Lab Members and Projects

	Saravanan Palani \| Research Fellow I am interested in understanding fission yeast cytokinesis both in vitro and in vivo. To study fission yeast cytokinesis on a molecular level, I will employ proteomic approaches together with imaging technologies.
	Junqi Huang \| Research Fellow I am interested in studying the mechanism of fission yeast cell division both in vitro and in vivo by a combination of Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Genetics methods.
	Bernardo Chapa y Lazo \| Research Fellow I am interested in understanding how cytokinetic actomyosin ring constriction is regulated and intend to use genetics, molecular biology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, high resolution fluorescence microscopy and synthetic biology approaches to do so.
	Ting Gang Chew \| Research Fellow I am interested in studying the force generating mechanism of the actomyosin-based contractile machinery, particularly during cell division.
	Jennifer Holden \| Research Fellow I am currently using genetics and cell biology based approaches to study alternative forms of cell division in fission yeast.
	Rebecca Hogg \| Research Associate I am generating different strains of fission yeast to be used in microscopy and cell biology experiments which focus on the study of cytokinesis. Prior to joining the group I completed my PhD at Manchester University on intron splicing in budding yeast.
	Nan Shao \| Visiting Fellow I am interested in studying cytokinesis in Schizosaccharomyces pombe with synthetic biology approach. With the aid of unnatural amino acids, how protein functions in various aspects of cell physiology can be revealed.
	Tom Cheffings \| PhD Student I will be using a combination of experimental methods, including microfluidics, and mathematical modelling techniques to study cytokinetic ring formation and constriction in fission yeast

	Saravanan Palani \| Research Fellow I am interested in understanding fission yeast cytokinesis both in vitro and in vivo. To study fission yeast cytokinesis on a molecular level, I will employ proteomic approaches together with imaging technologies.
	Junqi Huang \| Research Fellow I am interested in studying the mechanism of fission yeast cell division both in vitro and in vivo by a combination of Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Genetics methods.
	Bernardo Chapa y Lazo \| Research Fellow I am interested in understanding how cytokinetic actomyosin ring constriction is regulated and intend to use genetics, molecular biology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, high resolution fluorescence microscopy and synthetic biology approaches to do so.
	Ting Gang Chew \| Research Fellow I am interested in studying the force generating mechanism of the actomyosin-based contractile machinery, particularly during cell division.
	Jennifer Holden \| Research Fellow I am currently using genetics and cell biology based approaches to study alternative forms of cell division in fission yeast.
	Rebecca Hogg \| Research Associate I am generating different strains of fission yeast to be used in microscopy and cell biology experiments which focus on the study of cytokinesis. Prior to joining the group I completed my PhD at Manchester University on intron splicing in budding yeast.
	Nan Shao \| Visiting Fellow I am interested in studying cytokinesis in Schizosaccharomyces pombe with synthetic biology approach. With the aid of unnatural amino acids, how protein functions in various aspects of cell physiology can be revealed.
	Tom Cheffings \| PhD Student I will be using a combination of experimental methods, including microfluidics, and mathematical modelling techniques to study cytokinetic ring formation and constriction in fission yeast