Structural plasticity and conformational dynamics are hallmarks of proteins. Delineating the mechanisms of conformational switches in proteins, tightly controlled by various factors and processes, is key to unravel the principles that shape our protein universe. The CRC1035 combines researchers with complementary expertise in advanced biochemical and biophysical methods and employs interdisciplinary approaches to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms. Analysis of model systems has provided an understanding of basic principles of conformational switches. The progress achieved forms the basis for analysing the specific mechanisms of conformational switching in the regulation of protein function in medically relevant assemblies and systems linked to (patho)physiological conditions.
DFG Programme
Collaborative Research Centres
Current projects
-
A02 - Positioning, association and maturation of subunits during 20S proteasome assembly in pro- and eukaryotes
(Project Head
Groll, Michael
)
-
A03 - Conformational regulation of the Hsp90 machinery
(Project Heads
Buchner, Johannes
;
Sattler, Michael
)
-
A05 - Mechanical control of protein conformations
(Project Head
Rief, Matthias
)
-
A06 - Conformational plasticity of small Hsps
(Project Heads
Buchner, Johannes
;
Haslbeck, Martin
;
Weinkauf, Sevil
)
-
A07 - Regulation of the DEAD-box RNA helicase Sub2 by TREX
(Project Head
Conti, Elena
)
-
A09 - Small molecule induced conformational control of protein function and activity
(Project Heads
Sieber, Stephan A.
;
Weinkauf, Sevil
)
-
A10 - Conformational switching induced by protein-ligand assembly
(Project Head
Antes, Iris
)
-
A11 - Single molecule fluorescence methods for investigating conformational dynamics and allosteric effects in chaperones
(Project Head
Lamb, Don C.
)
-
A12 - Mechanism of chaperonin-mediated protein folding and assembly
(Project Heads
Hartl, Franz-Ulrich
;
Hayer-Hartl, Manajit
)
-
A13 - Conformational switching during the production of branched polyubiquitin chains
(Project Head
Schulman, Brenda
)
-
A14 - Engineering conformational dynamics of a de novo designed two-domain metalloenzyme
(Project Head
Zeymer, Cathleen
)
-
B02 - Association-induced conformational switching in biomolecules studied by Molecular Dynamics simulations
(Project Head
Zacharias, Martin
)
-
B03 - Conformational control of multi-domain RNA binding proteins
(Project Head
Sattler, Michael
)
-
B05 - Structural dynamics of small GTPases under the influence of posttranslational modifications
(Project Head
Itzen, Aymelt
)
-
B06 - Exploiting cross-amyloid interfaces to design peptides as modulators of amyloid self-assembly
(Project Head
Kapurniotu, Aphrodite
)
-
B07 - Structural analysis of inhibitor-amyloid co-aggregates
(Project Head
Reif, Bernd
)
-
B11 - Structural Mechanisms and Cellular Regulation of Assembly-induced Protein Folding
(Project Head
Feige, Matthias
)
-
B13 - Conformational switching of Bcl2 proteins and their complexes in a native membrane environment
(Project Head
Hagn, Franz
)
-
B14 - Translational control of protein folding by elongation kinetics
(Project Head
Nedialkova, Danny
)
-
B15 - Conformational switches in viral regulatory proteins
(Project Head
Schütz, Anne
)
-
Z01 - Biophysical methods
(Project Heads
Buchner, Johannes
;
Sattler, Michael
)
-
Z02 - Central Tasks
(Project Head
Buchner, Johannes
)
Completed projects
-
A01 - The 26S proteasome: Dynamics of the regulatory particle
(Project Heads
Baumeister, Wolfgang
;
Sakata, Ph.D., Eri
)
-
A04 - Chaperones and TPR proteins in organellar protein import and chloroplast biogenesis
(Project Heads
Schwenkert, Serena
;
Soll, Jürgen
)
-
B01 - Coupled binding and folding reactions of intrinsically disordered proteins
(Project Head
Kiefhaber, Thomas
)
-
B04 - Regulation mechanisms and dynamic properties of mycobacterial protein kinase G
(Project Head
Dames, Sonja Alexandra
)
-
B08 - Alternative Splicing - switching and conformational diversity
(Project Heads
Haslbeck, Martin
;
Zimmer, Ralf
)
-
B09 - Design of alternative protein conformations
(Project Head
Lange, Oliver
)
-
B10 - Genetic code expansion tools to study and control conformational dynamics and protein assembly
(Project Head
Lang, Kathrin
)
-
B12 - Multi-scale molecular simulations and artificial design of long-range conformational switches
(Project Head
Kaila, Ville
)