Institute for Molecular Bio Science
Research

Research
There are currently eleven working groups at the Institute; they investigate a wide variety of molecular aspects of life. This research primarily focuses on microorganisms and plants. Membrane Biology is traditionally one of the strongest areas at the Institute. In this context, the focal point is the analysis of the structure and function of membrane-bound proteins, as well as their regulation and participation in intracellular signalling cascades. In the field of Biotechnology, work is being conducted on the development of microbial cell factories using both classical and recombinant methods to bring about overproduction of a range of enzymes and chemicals. Another new aspect of this field is the identification, characterisation and application of new metabolites from the secondary metabolism of entomopathogenic microbes. Metabolic pathways are selectively altered, e.g. to produce biofuels or to develop therapeutic methods of improving cellular defence.
In Microbial Physiology the emphasis is on metabolic physiology, specifically on its regulation and genetic basis in the Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryota. The results of this study form the basis of analysis by membrane biologists and biotechnologists, leading to close networking both within the faculty and beyond. Research topics in Molecular Plant Physiology are the energy metabolism of photosynthetic organisms and its underlying organelle interactions. Physiological, structural, biochemical and genetic investigation all play an important part in this research.
Degenerative Processes and Molecular Stress focuses on the investigation of molecular aging mechanisms, especially the role of mitochondria in the aging process, as well as the analysis of cellular responses to heat and light stress. The groups working on Protective Functions of Carotenoids are investigating the molecular mechanism of carotenoid function in strong light conditions, as well as in protection from reactive oxygen species and membrane damage caused by external factors. In the field of Regulatory RNAs, the research focuses on structural and functional analysis of regulatory non-coding RNAs and their interactions with proteins, as well as their biological functions and cellular regulation.
Research Objects

Research Objects
Department | Title | First Name | Surname | |||||
Prof. |
Richard |
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Prof. |
Jörg |
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Prof. |
Gerhard |
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Prof. |
Helge |
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Prof. |
Heinz Dieter |
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Prof. |
Volker |
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Prof. |
Beate |
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Prof. |
Enrico |
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Dr. |
Andreas |
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Prof. |
Claudia |
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Prof. |
Eckhard |
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Prof. |
Jens |
Heads of the Departments

Heads of the Departments
Title | First Name | Surname | Department | ||||
Prof. |
Beate |
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Prof. |
Helge |
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Prof. |
Eckhard |
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Prof. |
Claudia |
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Prof. |
Volker |
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Prof. |
Heinz Dieter |
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Prof. |
Gerhard |
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Prof. |
Enrico |
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Dr. |
Andreas |
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Prof. |
Jörg |
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Prof. |
Richard |
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Prof. |
Jens |
Teaching

Teaching
The Institute is involved the Bachelor's Programmes in Biological Sciences, Biophysics and Bioinformatics as well as in Teacher Education in Biological Sciences and in the biological training of medical science students. In addition, it offers two master's programmes, Molecular Biological Sciences and Molecular Biotechnology, as well as participating in interdisciplinary master's programmes.
Kolloquium

Kolloquium
Wintersemester 2018/2019
- Die Vorträge finden jeweils um 17:15 Uhr statt.
The talks starts at 17:15 - Ort: Biozentrum auf dem Campus Riedberg, Raum 260/3.13
Where: Campus Rieberg, Biocenter, Section of the Building 260 Room 3.13
Tuesday 16.10.2018 |
Dr. Jose M Jimenez-Gomez Domestication delayed circadian rhythms in tomato |
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Tuesday 23.10.2018 |
Dr. Andreas Schlundt Towards atom-resolved RNA-protein landscapes that egotiate mRNA fate |
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Tuesday 06.11.2018 |
Dr. Xavier Charpentier, International Center for Research on Infectious Diseases Villeurbanne, France Natural transformation and acquisition of antibiotic resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii |
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Tuesday 20.11.2018 |
Dr. Mirko Basen Thermophiles - from basic physiology towards biotechnological applications |
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Tuesday 29.01.2019 |
Dr. Daniel Kögler The protein import machinery at the plastid envelope membrane comprises subunits that connect protein import with other essential plastidic processes |
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Tuesday 05.02.2019 |
Prof. Dr. Andres Jäschke Chemical Biology of RNA - New epitranscriptomic modifications and novel imaging approachesSince our discovery of the redox cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) as a cap-like 5’-structure of certain regulatory RNAs in bacteria, the noncanonical NAD cap has been detected in various prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. While the in vivo functions of this modification are still largely unknown, recent work has uncovered one mechanism for the biosynthesis of NAD-RNAs, namely transcription initiation by NAD, and two different decapping mechanisms: Nudix enzymes, such as NudC in E. coli and Npy1p in yeast hydrolyze the NAD pyrophosphate bond, generating nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and 5’-pRNA, whereas human DXO and fungal Rai1 remove the entire NAD and create an 5’-truncated RNA. Both decapping pathways were found to influence RNA turnover. Here we provide new insight into NAD capping in S. cerevisiae, and into the role of Npy1p as decapping enzyme. We find that 5’-NAD modulates the usage of alternative transcription start sites, thereby changing the length of the 5’-UTR. Furthermore, we report a third, chemically distinct decapping pathway: The human glycohydrolase CD38 removes nicotinamide from NAD-capped-RNA, yielding ADP-ribose modified RNA. ADP-ribose-RNA in turn is processed in vitro by the human Nudix enzyme hNudt5 into ribose phosphate and 5’-pRNA. Neither CD38 nor hNudT5 show decapping activity on m7G-RNA, which demonstrates their specificity on 5´-NAD-capped RNA. This is the first report linking CD38 and hNudt5 to RNA turnover. The existence of three different decapping pathways for NAD-RNAs suggests that these enzymes might target different pools of target RNAs and may be a means of biological regulation. Given the central role of NAD in redox-biochemistry, protein-modification, and signalling, its specific attachment and removal to RNA points to unknown roles of RNA in these processes and to undiscovered pathways in RNA metabolism and regulation. |
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