Forschungsgruppen

Thomas Barends: Structural Biology of Elemental Cycles

The discovery of anammox bacteria in the 1990's has dramatically changed our understanding of the global nitrogen cycle. These bacteria perform ANaerobic AMMonium Oxidation (ANAMMOX), combining ammonium with nitrite into molecular dinitrogen (N2) and water, yielding energy for the cell. This process relies on highly unusual intermediates such as hydrazine. We are studying the molecular mechanism of the ANAMMOX process using structural biology.

Jochen Reinstein: To make a virus - Assembly, DNA loading and processing of virophage capsomers and capsids

Attaining a well-defined three dimensional structure and thus functionality can be a serious challenge in the early life of many proteins. Although the final structure is energetically favored, many side reactions can occur that lead to unproductive protein structures and assembles. This problem is even more challenging for very large assemblies like virus capsids that constitute the protective shell of viruses. Here, not only is the information of the final capsid protein structure encoded in the respective amino acid sequence, but also the supramolecular assembly that contains several hundred copies of this capsid protein and yet forms a precisely defined icosahedral capsid.