New research unit funded by the DFG: Investigating the molecular machines at the heart of gene expression
Kristina Zumer and Hauke Hillen at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPI-NAT) investigate the fundamental mechanisms of gene transcription as part of a new national research consortium. The research group is coordinated by the University of Bayreuth.
The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) has approved funding for a new Research Unit (FOR 6037) dedicated to understanding the molecular mechanisms that control transcription - the first and most critical step of gene expression. The new Research Unit, "Multi-subunit RNA polymerases across all domains of life: Mechanisms underlying transcription activity and regulation," brings together researchers from leading German universities and research institutions. It will initially receive multi-million-euro funding for four years, with the option of renewal for an additional four-year period. The Research Unit is coordinated by Claus-D. Kuhn, Professor of RNA Biochemistry at the University of Bayreuth, who serves as spokesperson, together with Lydia Herzel from the Freie Universität Berlin as vice spokesperson.
Decoding One of Life’s Most Fundamental Processes
At the heart of gene expression are multi-subunit RNA polymerases (msRNAPs) - molecular machines that transcribe DNA into RNA and drive the transcription cycle through the phases initiation, elongation, and termination. While the catalytic core of msRNAPs is highly conserved, differences in peripheral subunits and regulatory factors reveal diverse strategies across the tree of life, a diversity that remains poorly understood because research to date was focused on very few model systems. Also leveraging on recent technological advances, such as cryo-electron microscopy, the novel Research Unit will address this lack of knowledge and, for the first time, jointly investigate transcription regulation across bacterial, archaeal, eukaryotic, plastid, and viral systems. The Unit will pursue three scientific goals: 1. Dissect the molecular principles of template-based RNA synthesis by multi-subunit RNA polymerases across all domains of life, 2. Pinpoint the regulatory mechanisms influencing transcription dynamics and output, and 3. Coalesce its findings into overarching principles that govern transcriptional output and regulation.
A Nationwide, Interdisciplinary Consortium
The research group brings together 13 experts on msRNAPs from across Germany in nine different projects. In addition to the MPI-NAT, the University of Bayreuth, and Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Göttingen, Leibniz University Hannover, the University of Regensburg, the University of Würzburg, and the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry are participating in the DFG research unit. From the MPI-NAT’s perspective, this is particularly gratifying: Five of the nine principal investigators were or are part of the research team led by Patrick Cramer, director at the MPI-NAT and current president of the Max Planck Society. Claus-D. Kuhn (University of Bayreuth), Hauke Hillen (MPI-NAT and University of Göttingen), Maria Sokolova (MPI for Biochemistry), and Christoph Engel (University of Regensburg) have previously worked in the Cramer Lab. Kristina Zumer is a project group leader in Cramer’s Department of Molecular Biology at the MPI-NAT. The project teams will jointly investigate related phases of the transcription cycle in different organisms or apply complementary methods to study various msRNAPs.
By combining structural, biophysical, and systems-level approaches, the research unit aims to reveal both the conserved mechanisms and the specialized strategies that organisms across the tree of life use to regulate gene expression. The unit has the potential to advance our understanding of transcription and its regulation well beyond what any single project could achieve on its own.
