Gregory C. Rogers, PhD

Assistant Professor

E-Mail Address: 
grogers@azcc.arizona.edu
Phone Number: 
520-626-3925
Fax: 
520-626-3764
Short Bio: 

Primary Appointment:

Cellular and Moleuclar Medicine

Degrees:

1999 - Ph.D., University of California at Davis, Cell and Developmental Biology

1994 - B.A., University of Rochester, Biology

 

Research Information
Research Program: 
3. Cancer Biology
Member Status: 
Member
Year of Membership Acceptance: 
2009
Summary of Research Activity: 

My laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms cells use to maintain stability of their genomes. This is medically relevant because genomic instability can promote tumorigenesis. During mitosis, cells face particular risk, as errors in chromosome segregation can lead to chromosome instability (CIN) which is characterized, in part, by an abnormal chromosome complement (known as aneuploidy). Indeed, aneuploidy promotes malignant transformation and is an underlying cause of birth defects. Mitotic spindles are used to faithfully segregate chromosomes into daughter cells and, for this to occur properly, it is critical that cells assemble spindles with a bipolar fusiform-shape. Cells control spindle shape using centrosomes, tiny organelles that nucleate the microtubule cytoskeleton and organize the two spindle poles. Normally, cells contain a single centrosome which duplicates once per cell cycle, thus ensuring that cells enter mitosis with only two centrosomes to build a bipolar spindle. Cancer cells, however, overduplicate their centrosomes, which leads to multipolar spindle formation and chromosome instability. In fact, most human tumors contain cells with elevated centrosome numbers and aneuploid genomes. Importantly, the fundamental mechanisms that cells use to control their centrosome number are unclear, nor is it understood how this regulation goes awry in cancer. My work centers on characterizing a particular pathway (the Plk4 pathway) to control the biogenesis of centrosomes. This pathway utilizes both phosphorylation and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis as regulatory mechanisms in a complex signaling pathway to control the biogenesis of centrosomes.

 

Selected Publications: 

Brownlee, C.W., Klebba, J.E., Buster, D.W. and Rogers, G.C. 2011. The Protein Phosphatase 2A regulatory subunit Twins stabilizes Plk4 to induce centriole amplification. J Cell Biol., 195, 231-243.

Taylor, S.M., Nevis, K.R., Park, H.L., Rogers, G.C., Rogers, S.L., Cook, J.G. and Bautch, V.L. 2010. Angiogenic factor signaling regulates centrosome duplication in endothelial cells of developing blood vessels. Blood. 116, 3108-3117.

Roger, G.C. 2010. More than just microtubules: actin-dynamics separate interphase-prophase centrosomes. Curr Biol, 20,R364-R366.

Rusan NM, Rogers GC. 2009. Centrosome function: Sometimes less is more. Traffic, 10, 472-481.

Rogers GC, Rusan NM, Roberts DM, Peifer M, Rogers SL. Jan 2009. The SCF Slimb ubiquitin ligase regulates Plk4/Sak levels to block centriole reduplication. J Cell Biol, 184:225-39

Rogers GC, Rusan NM, Peifer M, Rogers SL. Jul 2008. A multicomponent assembly pathway contributes to the formation of acentrosomal microtubule arrays in interphase Drosophila cells. Mol Biol Cell, 19:3163-78

Rogers SL, Rogers GC. Dec 2007. Culture of Drosophila S2 cells and their use for RNAi-mediated loss-of-function studies and immunofluorescence microscopy. Nat Protoc, 3:606-11

Zhang D, Rogers GC, Buster DW, Sharp DJ. Apr 2007. Three microtubule severing enzymes contribute to the "Pacman-flux" machinery that moves chromosomes. J Cell Biol, 177:231-42

Kim H, Ling SC, Rogers GC, Kural C, Selvin PR, Rogers SL, Gelfand VI. Feb 2007. Microtubule binding by dynactin is required for microtubule organization but not cargo transport. J Cell Biol, 176:641-51

Rogers GC, Rogers SL, Sharp DJ. Mar 2005. Spindle microtubules in flux. J Cell Sci, 118:1105-16

Mennella V, Rogers GC, Rogers SL, Buster DW, Vale RD, Sharp DJ. Mar 2005. Functionally distinct kinesin-13 family members cooperate to regulate microtubule dynamics during interphase. Nat Cell Biol, 7:235-45

Rogers GC, Rogers SL, Schwimmer TA, Ems-McClung SC, Walczak CE, Vale RD, Scholey JM, Sharp DJ. Jan 2004. Two mitotic kinesins cooperate to drive sister chromatid separation during anaphase. Nature, 427:364-70

Rogers SL, Rogers GC, Sharp DJ, Vale RD. Sep 2002. Drosophila EB1 is important for proper assembly, dynamics, and positioning of the mitotic spindle. J Cell Biol, 158:873-84

Scholey JM, Rogers GC, Sharp DJ. Jul 2001. Mitosis, microtubules, and the matrix. J Cell Biol, 154:261-6

Sharp DJ, Rogers GC, Scholey JM. Dec 2000. Cytoplasmic dynein is required for poleward chromosome movement during mitosis in Drosophila embryos. Nat Cell Biol, 2:922-30

Sharp DJ, Rogers GC, Scholey JM. Sep 2000. Microtubule motors in mitosis. Nature, 407:41-7

Rogers GC, Chui KK, Lee EW, Wedaman KP, Sharp DJ, Holland G, Morris RL, Scholey JM. Aug 2000. A kinesin-related protein, KRP(180), positions prometaphase spindle poles during early sea urchin embryonic cell division. J Cell Biol, 150:499-512