Das Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels

ist ein Forschungsmuseum der Leibniz Gemeinschaft

Bactofilins: a new and versatile class of cytoskeletal proteins in bacteria

Termin: 
Mo, 06.05.2019 - 17:00 Uhr
Treffpunkt: 
Poppelsdorfer Schloss
Ort: 
Hörsaal
Veranstaltungsart: 
Vortrag
Veranstaltungsreihe: 
Biologisches/Evolutionsbiologisches Kolloquium
Zielgruppe: 
Studierende
Vortragende / Vortragender: 
Prof. Dr. Martin Thanbichler Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiolology, Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität, and LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, Germany

In recent years, it has become evident that bacteria contain various cytoskeletal proteins that are critical for their fitness and survival. These include homologs of actin, tubulin and intermediate fila­ment proteins as well as bacteria-specific factors, such as the bactofilins.

Bactofilins are an atypical group of cytoskeletal proteins that share structural simililarity with prion pro­teins and assemble into stable polymeric structures without the need for nucleotide cofactors. They are almost ubiquitous among bacteria and often present in multiple paralogous copies per species, suggesting that they have critical cellular functions. However, their biological roles and polymer­ization behavior remain poorly understood.

This talk will highlight recent structural and functional studies on the physiological roles of bactofilin polymers in selected bacterial model organisms. The results obtained show that bactofilins serve as multi-purpose cytoskeletal scaffolds that recruit inter­acting proteins to the (sub)polar regions of the cell, thereby controlling a range of different pathways. This functional divergence underscores the diversity of mechanisms that control the spatiotemporal organization of bacteria.

Ansprechpartnerin / Ansprechpartner

Sektionsleiterin
+49 228 9122-241
+49 228 9122-295
h.waegele [at] leibniz-zfmk.de

Biologisches Kolloquium

Prof. Dr. H. Wägele
Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig,
Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn
 
Prof. Dr. G. von der Emde
Institut für Zoologie, Poppelsdorfer Schloss,
Meckenheimer Allee 169, 53115 Bonn
 
Ort: Großer Hörsaal, Poppelsdorfer Schloß
Zeit: montags, 17.15 Uhr