Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship for Els Kuiper
Unravelling the cellular machinery and triggers for autophagy-mediated Nuclear Pore Complex degradation in yeast
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the European Union support the career of talented early career researchers who move abroad to gain experience in other countries and fosters excellence in science. Els Kuiper was among the 16.6 % of applicants who were gruanted in 2025.
Objective:
The nuclear envelope (NE) encloses the nucleus and contains nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) that regulate molecular exchange between nucleus and cytoplasm. NPCs are essential for key cellular processes, and their dysfunction is linked to ageing and disease, yet their degradation pathways remain poorly understood. Recent work in yeast revealed a selective autophagy pathway that degrades fully assembled NPCs via vesicles formed from the NE, initiated by Atg8 binding to the nucleoporin Nup159. This degradation is rare under normal conditions and induced under stress, suggesting tight regulation. This project uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify the machinery needed for vesicle formation through genome-wide screening and cryo-electron tomography. It also investigates what triggers NPC degradation, focusing on NPC clustering and nuclear content. The findings will deepen our understanding of NPC quality control and could inform studies of ageing and disease in human cells.