Max Planck Research Groups

Bacterial Biofilms

Prof. Dr. Knut Drescher

The lab of Dr. Knut Drescher focuses on understanding collective bacterial behaviors, using biofilm formation as a model system. Bacterial biofilms are surface-associated bacterial communities that are held together by an extracellular matrix. Cells within these communities are highly resistant to antibiotics and display strong phenotypic heterogeneity. Using microscopy, molecular biology techniques, and mathematical modeling, we study how bacteria form these complex multicellular biofilm communities, and how biofilms affect bacterial ecology. 

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Prokaryotic Small RNA Biology

Dr. Lennart Randau

The research of the Max Planck Research Group "Prokaryotic Small RNA Biology", led by Dr. Lennart Randau, aims to understand the processing of small RNAs involved in the defense against integrative elements (e.g. viruses) in Bacteria and Archaea. The group uses an interdisciplinary approach combining computational, biochemical and microbiological techniques to investigate (i) the RNAs that play the central role in the prokaryotic CRISPR immune system and (ii) the evolution of diverse disruptive elements within archaeal transfer RNA genes. These systems will be exploited for the modulation of prokaryotic immunity and the creation of gene knock-down technology.

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Evolutionary Biochemistry

Dr. Georg Hochberg

Cells are filled with a dazzling diversity of proteins that can seem exquisitely tuned to their functions. How did evolution produce this diversity? Is it the result millions of years of fine-tuning, or does it reflect a more erratic process that tends to produce Rube Goldberg-like machines replete with gratuitous complexity? Our lab tackles these questions using the evolution of protein complexes as our model system.  We use ancestral sequence reconstruction to resurrect long extinct protein complexes and characterize their structure and function using a combination of high-resolution biophysical techniques and high-throughput characterization of protein libraries.