# Determining the molecular mechanisms that control cell size

> **NIH NIH F32** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $43,584

## Abstract

Project Summary
Every type of cell maintains a specific size range to best perform its physiological functions. But, how does a cell
know how big it is? This is a question fundamental to the biology of all cells and is poorly understood on a
mechanistic level. Recently, the Skotheim lab found that, during the first gap phase (G1), the model organism
budding yeast dilutes a cell cycle inhibitor Whi5, a protein that prevents the transition from G1 to S phase.
Through the dilution of the Whi5 inhibitor, yeast cells “sense” size by elegantly linking the extent of cell growth
in G1 with the decision to irreversibly enter S phase and divide. Critical to its function as a size “sensor”, Whi5
is not synthesized in proportion cell size, which distinguishes it from nearly every other yeast protein. Therefore,
its synthesis must be subjected unique regulation, which is not understood. Moreover, the discovery of inhibitor
dilution suggests that a universal feature of some size regulating factors may be that their concentration changes
in cells of different sizes. My proposal aims to 1) interrogate the WHI5 locus using genetics and proteomics to
determine the mechanism by which it promotes size-independent synthesis, and 2) screen the eukaryotic
proteome for other proteins whose concentrations change with changes in cell size. (Aim 1) Our preliminary data
indicate that the size-independent synthesis of Whi5 protein is due to size-independent transcription. Because
little is known about transcriptional regulation at the WHI5 locus, I aim to determine the promoter regions
responsible for size-independent WHI5 expression using a series of genetic deletions and substitutions within
the WHI5 promoter. I will use single cell tracking microscopy to determine how these disruptions impact the size-
dependent synthesis of an mCitrine fluorescent reporter. In parallel, I will employ proteomics to identify WHI5
promoter-bound proteins and a Reporter-based Synthetic Genetic Array (R-SGA) to find genes that specifically
impact WHI5 transcription. Once identified, candidate regulators will be interrogated to understand the
mechanism by which they influence WHI5 transcription. (Aim 2) We hypothesize that a general feature of some
size regulating proteins is that their concentrations change with cell size. I will use proteomics to screen the
proteomes of budding yeast and humans to identify proteins or protein groups whose concentrations change
with cell size. A pilot experiment performed on a FACS-sorted human fibroblast cells demonstrates the efficacy
of our planned proteomic approach. We identify size-dependent concentration changes in individual proteins and
protein groups while controlling for confounding changes related to cell cycle phase. By expanding the depth of
this analysis and performing similar experiments in budding yeast, we aim to identify candidate regulators of cell
size or regulators of other biological process that are influenced by cell size. Moreover, b...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10142201
- **Project number:** 1F32GM137522-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Charles Lanz
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $43,584
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-02-01 → 2021-09-01

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10142201

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10142201, Determining the molecular mechanisms that control cell size (1F32GM137522-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10142201. Licensed CC0.

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