DNA methylation (DNAm) is one of the most frequently studied epigenetic mechanisms facilitating the interplay of genomic and environmental factors, which can contribute to externalizing behaviours and related psychiatric disorders. Previous epigenome-wide ...
BRCA2 and RAD51 are two proteins that play a central role in homologous recombination (HR) and DNA double strand break (DSB) repair. BRCA2 assists RAD51 fibrillation and defibrillation through binding with its eight BRC repeats, with BRC4 being one of the ...
Fluorescence imaging is an invaluable tool to study biological processes and further progress depends on the development of advanced fluorogenic probes that reach intracellular targets and label them with high specificity. Excellent fluorogenic rhodamine d ...
The structural complexity of glycans makes their characterization challenging, not only because of the presence of various isomeric forms of the precursor molecule but also because the fragments can themselves be isomeric. We have recently developed an IMS ...
Difficulties to replicate telomeres - the ends of our chromosomes - can cause telomere shortening and
genome instability. These difficulties are due to the repetitive DNA sequence and distinct structures at telomeres
that challenge the semi-conservative DN ...
Significant increases in sedimentation rate accompany the evolution of multicellularity. These increases should lead to rapid changes in ecological distribution, thereby affecting the costs and benefits of multicellularity and its likelihood to evolve. How ...
Crossover formation is essential for proper segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Here, we show that Caenorhabditis elegans cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK-2) partners with cyclin-like protein COSA-1 to promote crossover formation by promoti ...
Recognition of pathogen-derived molecules through germline-encoded receptors is a fundamental principle of innate immunity. Pattern recognition receptors detect specific intracellular danger signals to trigger potent immune responses. The DNA sensor cyclic ...
Chromatin is spatially organized into functional states that are defined by both the presence of specific histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) and a defined set of chromatin-associated “reader” proteins. Different models for the underlying mecha ...
Natural competence for transformation is an important driver of horizontal DNA exchange between different organisms. This can result in accumulation of dangerous genetic features, such as antibiotic resistance genes, in a single organism. One example of an ...
This thesis investigates novel single-molecule luminescence phenomena at their inherent, sub-molecular length scale. The microscopic understanding of luminescence processes will be crucial for the continued improvement of organic optoelectronic and semicon ...
The Polycomb repressive complexes PRC1, PRC2, and PR-DUB repress target genes by modifying their chromatin. In Drosophila, PRC1 compacts chromatin and monoubiquitinates histone H2A at lysine 118 (H2Aub1), whereas PR-DUB is a major H2Aub1 deubiquitinase, bu ...
