Max-Planck-Gesellschaft Minerva
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Protein Evolution - The basic building blocks of life

Director: Andrei Lupas

Proteins provide the chemical basis for all processes of life. We investigate their origin and the evolution of their folds and mechanisms of action by means of bioinformatics, biochemistry and structural biology.

Biochemistry - Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression

Interim Director: Ralf Sommer

The Department of Biochemistry is devoted to studying post-transcriptional mechanisms of gene expression, focusing on various aspects of RNA biology. We use an interdisciplinary approach combining biochemistry and bioinformatics together with structural, molecular and cellular biology.

Microbiome Science

Director: Ruth Ley

The Department of Microbiome Science is broadly interested in how interactions between humans and their gut microbiota influence metabolism and obesity. We explore how interactions between host genetic status and the microbiome influence host metabolic phenotypes.

Integrative Evolutionary Biology

Director: Ralf Sommer

How do developmental processes change during evolution? We take an integrative approach and try to link evo-devo with population genetics and evolutionary ecology by studying the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, which lives in a defined scarab beetle ecosystem.

Cell Biology - From single cell to cell diversity

Director: Gerd Jürgens

Plants, like all multi-cellular organisms, have to develop from a single cell. In our group we are studying temporal and spatial signals that guide the establishment of the initial body organization in early embryogenesis.

Molecular Biology - Adaption to changes

Director: Detlef Weigel

There is tremendous phenotypic diversity between and within species. Much of this is thought to reflect adaptation to the environment. Drawing on tools from high-throughput genomics to forward genetics, we are investigating the mechanisms responsible for adaptive variation.

Transmembrane Signal Transduction

Group Leader: Murray Coles

NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for examining the structure, dynamics and interactions of biological macromolecules in solution. The NMR spectroscopy group is part of the wider structural biology platform within the Department of Protein Evolution, and is involved in several projects investigating protein structure and function. Several projects study the evolution of complex protein folds from simpler peptide units.

Protein Folding, Unfolding and Degradation

Group Leader: Jörg Martin

Folding, unfolding and degradation of proteins is mediated by complex macromolecular assemblies in the cell. We investigate the structure, function and evolution of these nanomachines.

Conservation of Protein Structure and Function

Group Leader: Birte Hernandez

We use various biochemical, biophysical and microbiological techniques to explore conserved structural characteristics of proteins and their importance for function, by going from prokaryotes to eukaryotes.

Molecular Recognition and Catalysis

Group Leader: Marcus Hartmann

We employ classical biochemistry, X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic approaches to study biomolecular interactions in contexts ranging from enzymatic catalysis to macromolecular complexes.

Protein Bioinformatics

Group Leader: Vikram Alva

We use bioinformatic approaches to elucidate the structure, function, and evolution of proteins.

Integrative Structural Biology of mRNA Decay Machinery

Group Leader: Eugene Valkov

We use structural approaches combined with biochemical reconstitution to investigate the mechanisms of mRNA degradation and how they integrate in the gene expression pathway.

Retrotransposition and Regulatory RNAs

Group Leader: Oliver Weichenrieder

We study the molecular basis of cellular processes that are mediated by RNA. Our focus is on molecular parasites in the human genome (LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposons) and on the regulation of mRNA degradation. We use x-ray crystallography together with biochemical approaches and cell-based assays.

Host Phenotype Effects of Heritable Gut Microbiota

Group Leader: Jillian Waters

We study the relationship between humans and their gut microbiota by focusing on associations between specific microbes that are under the influence of host genetics (i.e., heritable microbes) and their effect on host weight, adiposity, and other health-associated phenotypes. We are interested in the mechanisms underlying the associations between host phenotype and the ecology of heritable microbes.

Ecology and Evolution of Host-Associated Methanogens

Group Leader: Nicholas Youngblut

Methanogenic archaea inhabiting the gut are under the influence of host genetics (i.e., they are heritable) and are also associated with host metabolism and other health-associated phenotypes. We are interested in the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying these associations.

Evolutionary Genomics and Bioinformatics

Group Leader: Christian Rödelsperger

Our group is analyzing large-scale sequencing data for finding the genetic basis for various traits and to characterize general patterns of genome evolution in nematodes.

Parasitic Nematodes

Group Leader: Adrian Streit

We combine molecular and genetic approaches to study life history switches and reproductive strategies in parasitic nematodes of the genera Strongyloides and Onchocerca.

Entomo-Nematology

Group Leader: Matthias Herrmann

Nematode biology, phylogeny and ecology: Being convinced that environments shape genomes we hope that the study of ecology, behaviour, interactions and relationships of nematodes in nature will explain many results molecular biology provided already but could not be explained so far.

Fertilization and Embryogenesis in Plants

Group Leader: Martin Bayer

Our group is interested in signaling pathways that link fertilization with the onset of embryogenesis in plants. We are focusing on factors provided by the male gametophyte that play an important role in gamete interaction and early embryogenesis.

Ancient Genomics and Evolution

Group Leader: Hernan A. Burbano

We study the co-evolution of plants, their pathogens and their associated microbiome using modern and ancient DNA.

Hans Meinhardt († 2016)

He has developed models for biological pattern formation that account for essential steps in development. Meanwhile many of the predicted interactions found are supported by molecular-genetic observations.

Alfred Gierer

My work is mainly concerned with the relation between life sciences and physics in general, as well as with the theory of pattern formation and neural development in particular.

Friedrich Bonhoeffer

Bacterial DNA replication, in vivo and in vitro; neuro-embryology, in vivo- and in vitro-studies of the topographic axonal projection from the retina to the tectum.