Graduate Students Mini Symposium XI-2023

01:15 PM Adán Ramírez Rojas - DNA Foundry - Schindler
Synthetic genomics to decipher the moonlighting function of the yeast SEN complex
tRNAs are non-coding essential RNAs that in many cases contain introns. In many eukaryotes, tRNA splicing is performed by the SEN complex, which in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae’s carries an additional unknown essential function unrelated to tRNA maturation. Within the Synthetic Biology’s Design, Build, Test, Learn cycle, we are trying to identify the moonlighting function of the yeast SEN complex by studying its interactions to nascent RNAs by UV crosslinking and analysis of cDNA (CRAC). Additionaly, the SEN coding genes are being re-located onto a neochromosome for more accessible editing and subsequent genomic analyses. In parallel, a high-throughput workflow for validation of the generated DNA constructs via Nanopore sequencing was developed.

01:45 PM Niels Oehlmann - ENG Rebelein
CO₂ reduction by the iron nitrogenase competes with N₂ fixation
Nitrogenases are powerful reductases that drive the global nitrogen cycle, but also convert the greenhouse gas CO₂. We found that the molybdenum (Mo) and iron (Fe) nitrogenase show distinct selectivity towards mixtures of CO₂ and N₂. The pronounced CO₂ side reactivity of the Fe nitrogenase releases formate and CH₄ and decreases the N₂ fixation efficiency, but could be the basis for new CO₂ capture technologies.

02:15 PM Corentin Brianceau - AG Diepold

From assembly to function: How the mobility of the inner membrane ring component governs the Type III Secretion System

Among the virulence factors deployed by infectious agents, the Type III Secretion System (T3SS) is essential for many Gram-negative pathogens. Resembling a nanomolecular syringe, the T3SS enables the export of effector proteins directly into the cytoplasm of eukaryotic host cells. Throughout evolution, the T3SS has developed components that dynamically exchange subunits, with faster exchange upon secretion activation. However, no direct link has yet been demonstrated between the dynamic exchange of these components and secretion by the T3SS. Therefore, the project aims to understand better how this dynamic exchange is involved in the assembly and/or the function of the T3SS.