Molecular Biology

Molecular Biology

Genome Transcription and Regulation

We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers who wish to understand how our genome is transcribed and regulated in health and disease. Why is this important? Transcription is the first step in the expression of our genetic information and is highly regulated during cell differentiation and organism development. We wish to understand how genes are switched on, and how genes are dysregulated in diseases such as cancer.

To this end, we combine structural biology with functional genomics and bioinformatics in eukaryotic systems. We determine the three-dimensional structure of large transcription complexes by a combinantion of cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, and crosslinking-mass spectrometry methods. The obtained structures are combined with functional data. This led to a first molecular movie of transcription and detailed insights into the mechanisms of transcription initiation from different promoters. We solved structures of the coactivator Mediator, and a chromatin-remodelling factor bound to the nucleosome.

In the future, we will continue to develop the methods and will study the structural basis of transcription regulation in chromatin. We also develop and use functional genomics methods and computational approaches to study genome regulation in living cells. Recent achievements include our development of transient transcriptome sequencing, or TT-seq, that can monitor dynamic changes in enhancer landscapes. We also developed a multi-omics approach to extract kinetic parameters of RNA polymerase initiation frequency, pause duration, and elongation velocity. In the future we will study the mechanisms of enhancer function, differentiation, and RNA metabolism, including transcription-coupled RNA processing. We also develop methods to improve transcriptomics on the single cell and single molecule level.

original

Cryo-EM structure of the RNA polymerase II transcription pre-initiation complex with core Mediator © Schilbach et al. Nature 2017

original

Multi-omics approach extracts kinetic parameters of transcription, system-wide © Gressel, Schwalb et al., eLife 2017

Press releases & research news

It is in our genes – and how our genome folds in 3D

Whether we stay healthy or become seriously ill is determined by our genes. The folding of our genome also has a significant influence on this, as the 3D genome organization regulates which genes are switched on and off. Researchers led by Marieke Oudelaar and Elisa Oberbeckmann at our MPI have now succeeded in recreating the 3D folding of the yeast genome in the lab and deciphering the underlying mechanisms. more

Patrick Cramer is director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Natural Sciences in Göttingen and is President-elect of the Max Planck Society.

Patrick Cramer shares the prestigious award in the life sciences with Eva Nogales from the University of California, Berkeley. Both scientists have made significant contributions to elucidating gene transcription, one of the fundamental processes to life, through the lens of structural biology. more

Patrick Cramer appointed new President-elect of the Max Planck Society

The Society’s Senate unanimously appointed the Managing Director of our institute as new President-elect for the term of office from 2023 to 2029. He will take over the role in June 2023 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Max Planck Society in Göttingen. more

Patrick Cramer elected to the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities

With a history spanning more than 300 years, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities is a scientific association steeped in tradition. Patrick Cramer is now one of 13 newly admitted members. (in German) more

Show more

Go to Editor View