Max Planck Research Groups
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.
Dr. Georg Hochberg

Dr. Katharina Höfer

RNA`s simple chemical composition - generally built from only four different nucleotides – stands in stark contrast to its highly complex functionality. To date, more than 160 chemical modifications are known that alter the function or stability of RNA molecules. Focusing primarily on the model organism Escherichia coli, the Höfer lab studies the epitranscriptomic mechanisms of gene regulation based on NAD-capped RNAs in bacteria. To identify novel and important connections between redox biology, gene expression and regulation they are combining cell biological, biochemical, structural, chemical and bioinformatic approaches.