News 2011

November 16, 2011

Beckmann receives ERC Advanced Investigator Grant

Roland Beckmann received an Advanced Investigator Grant from the European Research Council. These lucrative and highly competitive grants are awarded to European researchers based on their outstanding scientific achievem...

Roland Beckmann received an Advanced Investigator Grant from the European Research Council. These lucrative and highly competitive grants are awarded to European researchers based on their outstanding scientific achievements and designed to support highly innovative research. Professor Beckmann’s ERC project is aimed at improving the resolution of cryo-EM in order to investigate how membrane proteins are inserted into the membrane during translation.

Roland Beckmann received an Advanced Investigator Grant from the European Research Council. These lucrative and highly competitive grants are awarded to European researchers based on their outstanding scientific achievem...

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October 13, 2011

Wolf among the most highly cited reproduction biologists

Eckhard Wolf is the second-most highly cited reproduction biologist in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, according to an analysis by the monthly ‘Laborjournal’ (www.laborjournal.de).

September 26, 2011

How genes are transcribed in mitochondria

In a recent study, Patrick Cramer’s group, in collaboration with Dmitry Temiakov at UMDNJ, has described the first three-dimensional structure of the human mitochondrial RNA-polymerase. Interestingly, the structure sh...

In a recent study, Patrick Cramer’s group, in collaboration with Dmitry Temiakov at UMDNJ, has described the first three-dimensional structure of the human mitochondrial RNA-polymerase. Interestingly, the structure shows similarity to RNA polymerases of bacteriophages, concordant with the now widely accepted idea that mitochondria are derived from endosymbiotic bacteria. Nature online September 25, 2011 doi:10.1038

In a recent study, Patrick Cramer’s group, in collaboration with Dmitry Temiakov at UMDNJ, has described the first three-dimensional structure of the human mitochondrial RNA-polymerase. Interestingly, the structure sh...

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July 18, 2011

m4 award to LMU and University of Erlangen teams for leukemia research

Karl-Peter Hopfner, together with Fuat Oduncu (Medical Clinic, LMU) and Georg Fey (Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen), received an m4 award in the amount of €500,000 for their proposal to develop antibody derivat...

Karl-Peter Hopfner, together with Fuat Oduncu (Medical Clinic, LMU) and Georg Fey (Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen), received an m4 award in the amount of €500,000 for their proposal to develop antibody derivatives for personalized therapy of acute myeloid leukemia. The m4 award is financed by the Bavarian Ministry of Economy and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and provides start-up funding for projects with high commercial potential.

Karl-Peter Hopfner, together with Fuat Oduncu (Medical Clinic, LMU) and Georg Fey (Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen), received an m4 award in the amount of €500,000 for their proposal to develop antibody derivat...

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July 07, 2011

Molecular corkscrew knows the drill

In a recent study, Karl-Peter Hopfner's group has investigated how Swi2/Snf2 remodelers modulate protein-DNA interactions. They analyzed the structure and function of Modifier of Transcription 1 (Mot1), a simple member o...

In a recent study, Karl-Peter Hopfner's group has investigated how Swi2/Snf2 remodelers modulate protein-DNA interactions. They analyzed the structure and function of Modifier of Transcription 1 (Mot1), a simple member of this remodeler family. Mot1 winds along the DNA like a corkscrew, thereby replacing one of the key regulatory proteins, the TATA box binding protein (TBP), from the DNA. While this stops transcription of the target gene, TBP is stabilized and redistributed to other genes in the genome (Nature Advance Online Publication, July 6, 2011; Doi: 10.1038/nature10215)

In a recent study, Karl-Peter Hopfner's group has investigated how Swi2/Snf2 remodelers modulate protein-DNA interactions. They analyzed the structure and function of Modifier of Transcription 1 (Mot1), a simple member o...

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June 21, 2011

How to make stripes

Recent research from Ulrike Gaul's lab sheds new light on how periodicity is generated in animal body plans. Using a combination of computational and experimental approaches, the scientists examine the complex transcript...

Recent research from Ulrike Gaul's lab sheds new light on how periodicity is generated in animal body plans. Using a combination of computational and experimental approaches, the scientists examine the complex transcriptional regulation that underlies the formation of the 7-stripe expression patterns of pair-rule genes in Drosophila segmentation. They identify multiple new cis-regulatory elements and show that the non-periodically expressed maternal and gap genes have a much more pervasive role in setting up pair rule gene stripes than previously thought (Development 138, 3067-78).

Recent research from Ulrike Gaul's lab sheds new light on how periodicity is generated in animal body plans. Using a combination of computational and experimental approaches, the scientists examine the complex transcript...

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June 09, 2011

When ribosomes get stuck - watching the demise of defect mRNAs

A recent study by Roland Beckmann's group provided new insight into the demise of mRNAs stalled on ribosomes, a process called Nogo decay and mediated by the factors Dom34 and Hbs1. Using cryo electron microscopy, they ...

A recent study by Roland Beckmann's group provided new insight into the demise of mRNAs stalled on ribosomes, a process called Nogo decay and mediated by the factors Dom34 and Hbs1. Using cryo electron microscopy, they visualized a stalled complex and could demonstrate that Dom34/Hbs1 destabilize the complex, leading to the disassembly of the entire complex or the selective removal and degradation of the mRNA. Since the nature of the mRNA defect appears to be irrelevant, Nogo decay may serve to rescue blocked ribosomes more generally (Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 18, 715-720).

A recent study by Roland Beckmann's group provided new insight into the demise of mRNAs stalled on ribosomes, a process called Nogo decay and mediated by the factors Dom34 and Hbs1. Using cryo electron microscopy, they ...

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May 18, 2011

Protein complex Prp19 plays dual role in control of gene expression

New research from Katja Strässer's group shows how the TREX complex, which couples transcription of mRNAs to their export into the cytoplasm, is recruited to actively transcribed genes. They could demonstrate that the p...

New research from Katja Strässer's group shows how the TREX complex, which couples transcription of mRNAs to their export into the cytoplasm, is recruited to actively transcribed genes. They could demonstrate that the protein complex Prp19, previously only thought to be involved in splicing of pre-mRNAs, interacts with both RNA-Polymerase II, the enzyme which synthesizes mRNA, and TREX, which mediates mRNA transport (Genes Dev May 16, 2011 doi: 10.1101)

New research from Katja Strässer's group shows how the TREX complex, which couples transcription of mRNAs to their export into the cytoplasm, is recruited to actively transcribed genes. They could demonstrate that the p...

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April 20, 2011

How molecules find the right place at the right time

In a recent study, Dierck Niessing's group made an important contribution to understanding the underlying principles of messenger RNA transport within the cell. Using a combination of biochemical, biophysical and in viv...

In a recent study, Dierck Niessing's group made an important contribution to understanding the underlying principles of messenger RNA transport within the cell. Using a combination of biochemical, biophysical and in vivo methods, they could show that mRNAs destined for transport form a tight complex, first with the RNA- binding protein She2p within the nucleus and, after nuclear export, with the cytoplasmic adapter protein She3p. She3p binds both She2p and mRNA and connects them with the motor protein Myo4p (PloS Biology 9: e 1000611).

In a recent study, Dierck Niessing's group made an important contribution to understanding the underlying principles of messenger RNA transport within the cell. Using a combination of biochemical, biophysical and in viv...

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April 18, 2011

How proteins are integrated into the plasma membrane – a 3D view

In a recent study, Roland Beckmann’s group introduces a new method by which the integration of proteins into membranes can be investigated. During translation, ribosomes settle on a membrane-spanning channel into which...

In a recent study, Roland Beckmann’s group introduces a new method by which the integration of proteins into membranes can be investigated. During translation, ribosomes settle on a membrane-spanning channel into which they thread the nascent protein. The researchers could show, for the first time, that the channel releases the protein into the membrane through a lateral opening (Nat Struct and Mol Biol Apr 17. [Epub ahead of print]

In a recent study, Roland Beckmann’s group introduces a new method by which the integration of proteins into membranes can be investigated. During translation, ribosomes settle on a membrane-spanning channel into which...

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April 01, 2011

Solving the crystal structure of a key factor in DNA repair

The most dangerous damage to genomic DNA are double strand breaks. In a recent study, Karl-Peter Hopfner’s group has solved the crystal structure of the MR complex, which plays a central role in recognizing these break...

The most dangerous damage to genomic DNA are double strand breaks. In a recent study, Karl-Peter Hopfner’s group has solved the crystal structure of the MR complex, which plays a central role in recognizing these break, and has obtained intriguing insight into the recognition process. The complex initially has an open structure which closes, in an ATP-dependent fashion, when encountering a double strand break. End-to-end interactions between MR complexes prevent the DNA ends from drifting apart (Cell 145:54-66).

The most dangerous damage to genomic DNA are double strand breaks. In a recent study, Karl-Peter Hopfner’s group has solved the crystal structure of the MR complex, which plays a central role in recognizing these break...

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February 24, 2011

How cells overcome transcription blockage

In a recent study, Patrick Cramer’s group unravels the structural basis of RNA Polymerase II backtracking, arrest and reactivation (Nature 471:249-43).

January 26, 2011

Viruses spoiling their hosts’ innate immune response

Co-evolution with their hosts made viruses experts in manipulating the immune system of their hosts. In two recent studies, the group of Karl-Klaus Conzelmann elucidates key mechanisms of immune evasion by two different ...

Co-evolution with their hosts made viruses experts in manipulating the immune system of their hosts. In two recent studies, the group of Karl-Klaus Conzelmann elucidates key mechanisms of immune evasion by two different viruses, the neurotropic rabies virus and the haematotropic measles virus. While the rabies virus simply counteracts expression and function of interferon, a powerful antiviral and immune-stimulatory cytokine, the measles virus also interferes with the activity of the transcription factor NF-kB, which governs both innate immune responses and differentiation of immune cells (J Virol XXX, 2011; J Virol 85: 842-52).

Co-evolution with their hosts made viruses experts in manipulating the immune system of their hosts. In two recent studies, the group of Karl-Klaus Conzelmann elucidates key mechanisms of immune evasion by two different ...

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January 04, 2011

Dynamic transcriptome analysis measures mRNA turnover

In a recent study, Achim Tresch’s and Patrick Cramer’s groups have collaboratively developed a novel method, dynamic transcriptome analysis, to determine messenger RNA synthesis and decay rates on a genome-wide level...

In a recent study, Achim Tresch’s and Patrick Cramer’s groups have collaboratively developed a novel method, dynamic transcriptome analysis, to determine messenger RNA synthesis and decay rates on a genome-wide level. Using metabolic labeling of newly synthesized messenger RNA, followed by careful statistical modeling, they achieve a higher sensitivity and better temporal resolution than previous methods. Applying this new approach to yeast, they find that, under normal growth conditions, mRNA transcription and degradation are uncoupled, yet become coupled under osmotic stress (Molecular Systems Biology 7: 458, 2011).

In a recent study, Achim Tresch’s and Patrick Cramer’s groups have collaboratively developed a novel method, dynamic transcriptome analysis, to determine messenger RNA synthesis and decay rates on a genome-wide level...

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