Institute for Molecular Bio Science

Institutes and Facilities

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.

Department	Title	First Name	Surname
Biology and Genetics of Procaryotes	Prof.	Jörg	Soppa
Natural Product Genomics	Prof.	Eric	Helfrich
Merck-Stiftungsprofessur Molecular Biotechnology	Prof.	Helge	Bode
Molecular Microbiology and Bioenergetics	Prof.	Volker	Müller
Molecular Microbiology and Bioenergetics	Prof.	Beate	Averhoff
Molecular Cell Biology of Plants	Prof.	Enrico	Schleiff
mRNA-based gene regulation	Prof.	Andreas	Schlundt
Plant Cell Physiology	Prof.	Claudia	Büchel
Physiology and Genetics of Lower Eukaryotes	Prof.	Eckhard	Boles
RNA Regulation in Higher Eukaryotes	Prof.	Michaela	Müller-McNicoll
RNA Structural Biology	Prof.	Jens	Wöhnert

Tuesday, April 25th

Protect Your Ideas – From Patenting to Launching a Company in Life Science

Felipe Macias (Head of Entrepreneurship-Center at Goethe Unibator[1]) and Timo Smit (Licensing & IP-Management) from INNOVECTIS[2].

One of the most rewarding experiences in a scientist's life is when you make an exciting discovery. This talk will provide an overview of the procedures for protecting your ideas and realizing their full potential.

Intellectual property (IP), and patenting in the field of life science are crucial steps for building a successful start-up. In this talk, the presenters will highlight how technology transfer via INNOVECTIS enables scientists to secure their IP rights and commercialize their research, fostering both economic growth and societal benefits. Underpinned with examples, the journey from ideas towards attracting investors and the ultimate goal of gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace, which is offered by Goethe Unibator's program, are discussed.

This talk aims at students interested in pursuing a career in life sciences, who consider to make an important connection between their scientific expertise and an entrepreneurship as well as people with great ideas at any career stage. Furthermore the talk presents Goethe Unibator's activities in supporting founders from the idea to successful market launch.

Invited by Prof. Boles

Die Vorträge des Instituts finden jeweils am Dienstag um 17:15 Uhr im Biozentrum, Campus Riedberg, Gebäude N260 Raum 3.13 statt.
The lectures of the institute take place on Tuesday at 17:15 in the Biozentrum, Campus Riedberg, Building N260 Room 3.13.

[1] Goethe Unibator is part of INNOVECTIS and connects research and commercialization with the aim of promoting entrepreneurial thinking and action at Goethe University.

[2] INNOVECTIS is the technology transfer company of Goethe University and serves as an important link between academia and industry.

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Leverage a Large Actinobacterial Strain Collection for Natural Products and Drug Discovery

Prof. Ben Shen, University of Florida, USA

The Natural Products Discovery Center (NPDC) at UF Scripps houses one of the world's largest actinobacterial strain collections, totaling ~125,000 strains. These strains, isolated over the last eight decades and from 69 different countries, encode natural product chemical and biological diversity that are impossible to reproduce in laboratory settings today. We have launched a large-scale genome sequencing campaign to sequence all actinobacterial strains in the collection. The sequenced genomes are curated to create the NPGRC database. Both the strains and the curated genomes have been made available to the scientific community to promote natural products training, research, and associated applications (https://npdc.rc.ufl.edu/home). Lessons learned from our natural products program over the years and preliminary analysis of the strains sequenced to date, benchmarking against the sequenced genomes available in the public databases, will be presented to highlight how such a community resource could radically transform the current paradigm of natural product studies and drug discovery.

Invited by Prof. Helfrich

How to get there:

Open Street Map, Google Maps, pdf