J. Kondev

Transcription templated assembly of the nucleolus in the C. elegans embryo

This study shows that transcription of ribosomal RNA actively drives nucleolar assembly in C. elegans embryos, explaining rapid kinetics and scaling with nuclear volume.

Length control emerges from cytoskeletal network geometry

This paper shows that yeast cells control actin cable length through geometric organization rather than molecular feedback mechanisms.

Universal length fluctuations of actin structures found in cells

The paper shows that actin bundle lengths in cells follow a non-Gaussian distribution with variance proportional to the square of the steady-state length, challenging balance point models.

Recycling of Bacterial RNA Polymerase by the Swi2/Snf2 ATPase RapA

This study uses single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to show RapA removes RNA polymerase from DNA after termination via ATP hydrolysis, enabling RNAP recycling in E. coli.

RNA polymerase sliding on DNA can couple the transcription of nearby bacterial operons

This study shows that RNA polymerase can reinitiate transcription of nearby bacterial operons after sliding along DNA, demonstrating efficient coupling over distances up to 1,000 bp.

Ultrasensitivity of Microtubule severing rate on the concentration of free Tubulin

The paper models microtubule severing as a competition between damage spreading and tubulin-induced repair, showing hypersensitivity to tubulin concentration and increased dynamic range of microtubule lengths.

How to Assemble a Scale-Invariant Gradient

The paper demonstrates that protein gradients in cells are scale-invariant, determined by cell geometry rather than diffusion or transport parameters.

Scaling of subcellular structures with cell length through decelerated growth

The paper shows that actin cables in yeast cells grow with a decelerating rate, allowing their length to match the cell length.

Control of filament length by a depolymerizing gradient

The paper investigates length-dependent depolymerization as a mechanism for controlling filament length, analyzing linear and exponential gradient scenarios and comparing results to experimental data.

Analysis of Biological Noise in an Organelle Size Control System

The paper analyzes biological noise in flagellar length control in Chlamydomonas, showing cell-to-cell and within-cell variation and linking it to homeostatic mechanisms and tubulin dynamics.

Yeast ATM and ATR use different mechanisms to spread histone H2A phosphorylation around a DNA double-strand break

This study investigates how yeast ATM and ATR kinases spread histone H2A phosphorylation around DNA breaks using ChIP-qPCR and mathematical models.

Alternative transcription cycle for bacterial RNA polymerase

The paper observes bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) remaining bound to DNA after termination and restarting transcription in reverse, producing antisense transcripts, using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and genome-wide RNA sequencing.

Length-dependent disassembly maintains four different flagellar lengths in Giardia

The paper investigates how Giardia lamblia maintains four different flagellar lengths through length-dependent disassembly mediated by kinesin-13, balancing length-independent IFT assembly.