Using super-resolution microscopy to show that exostosin-1 (EXT1) glycosyltransferase, an enzyme involved in N-glycosylation, is a key regulator of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) morphology and dynamics.

Work lead by Jean-Claude Twizere, principal investigator and associate professor at the University of Liege in Belgium, has demonstrated that alternative glycosylation controls endoplasmic reticulum dynamics and tubular extension in mammalian cells. This work, published recently in the journal “Science Advances” (https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/19/eabe8349) combines multiomics and super-resolution microscopy to characterize the broad effect of EXT1 inactivation, including the ER shape-dynamics-function relationships in mammalian cells. Dr. Twizere and his team have worked in collaboration with two Euro-BioImaging Nodes, the Finnish Advanced Light Microscopy Node (FiALM, https://eurobioimaging.fi/FiALM/) in Turku, Finland, and the Advanced Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (AMMI) Node in Maastricht, The Netherlands.