Tetrahymena thermophila is a ciliated protozoan frequently used as a model organism. It is subject to the BIG1 gene mutation, which increases the size of the cell skeleton (cytoskeleton) and the number of basal bodies (so-called “joints” of the cell).
In this project, I computationally reconstructed T. thermophila cell skeletons based on confocal microscopy images to discern the relationship between number of basal bodies and cell size and disorder, finding that the BIG1 mutation correlates cell size, basal body number, and overall cell structure.
I am a co-author on the paper for this project, published in Current Biology.
