Nuclear pores in the nuclear membrane do not only control the transport of molecules into and out of the nucleus but also play an important role in gene expression. Researchers at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have deciphered a mechanism by which nuclear pores use "interpreters" to directly influence gene expression. The findings recently published in Cell were a collaborative effort with scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) and at the Pennsylvania State University (USA).
Scientists have been racking their brains over nuclear pores. Their role in the transport of molecules between nucleus and cytoplasm has been extensively described. Such molecules also include building blocks that help decipher the genetic information stored within the nucleus and guide those that have to leave the nucleus with a particular message out of it. This information is needed to produce proper proteins in the cytoplasm.
However, nuclear pores take an even more active role in gene expression, by directly modulating transcription of genetic information. „Genes are dynamic and change their position depending on if they are active or not. Intriguingly, some genes are able to attach to nuclear pores – the site where copies of genes are exported into the cytoplasm. This leads to changes in gene expression, in other words the frequency with which the transcriptional machinery reads genetic information. But how do nuclear pores communicate with genetic information? We had already assumed that specific adapters would not only attach genes to nuclear pores but that they would also pass on information to the transcriptional machinery,“ says Alwin Köhler, who is a group leader at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories.
In collaboration with researchers at the neighboring institute IMP in Vienna and colleagues at the Pennsylvania State University (USA), Alwin Köhlers group has succeeded in deciphering a mechanism that explains communication between nuclear pores and genes. „During our research, we discovered a ‚translation program’ that prepares the genetic information for RNA polymerase II,“ explains Alwin Köhler. RNA polymerase II is the key player during transcription and generates copies (messenger RNA, mRNA) that are necessary for protein synthesis.
In detail, the researchers identified the so-called TREX-2 complex as interpreter number one. TREX-2 receives information directly from the nuclear pore and translates this message for a complex called Mediator. Subsequently, Mediator makes the information accessible to RNA polymerase II. The resulting mRNA is sent back to TREX-2 and the nuclear pore and then exported into the cytoplasm.
Following the publication in Developmental Cell in May, this is already the second study of Alwin Köhler’s group published in one of the most important scientific journals in the field of basic research this year. „Deciphering transcriptional mechanisms is crucial for understanding the blueprint for a cell. This lays the basis for eventually treating numerous diseases such as cancer, since diseases are often caused by 'communication errors' during gene expression. Ideally, basic and clinical research go hand in hand. At the Vienna Biocenter, the Medical University of Vienna has the great opportunity to work closely with excellent researchers of the University of Vienna and the neighboring institutes. The best example is our successful collaboration with Tim Clausen at the IMP,“ says Alwin Köhler. But the real work is only just beginning: „We have answered one question, however, ten new questions have arisen. That is precisely what makes this project so fascinating,“ adds Maren Schneider, one of the first authors of the study.
Publication in Cell:
Maren Schneider, Doris Hellerschmied, Tobias Schubert, Stefan Amlacher, Vinesh Vinayachandran, Rohit Reja, B. Franklin Pugh, Tim Clausen and Alwin Köhler: The nuclear pore-associated TREX-2 complex employs Mediator to regulate gene expression.
Genomic adaptation in red algae
Speaker: Hwan Su YoonInstitute: Sungkyunkwan University, KoreaHost: Fred Berger
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TERIYAPIROM Isaree (Koo), NAVA GARCIA Marintia Mayola (Dagdas), AYALA MUNOZ Farja (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Protein synthesis programs the development and evolution of neuronal diversity
Speaker: Matthew KrausharInstitute: MPI for Molecular Genetics, BerlinHost: Andrea Pauli
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: OTSUKI Leo (Tanaka), LEITNER Marie-Christin (Mendjan), SEONG Jinwoo (Rivron)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Mark DawsonInstitute: Peter MacCallum Cancer CentreHost: Johannes Zuber
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HOLZMANN Viktoria (Rivron), LEV Itamar (Zimmer), HODAKOVA Zuzana (Haselbach)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Developmental flexibility to keep pace with a changing world
Speaker: Dominique BergmannInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: Liam Dolan
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BABADEI Olga (Decker), KELLNER Max Josef (Penninger), DENEKE Victoria (Pauli)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Role of the centromere in genetic self/non-self discrimination in yeasts
Speaker: Yves BarralInstitute: ETH ZurichHost: Shotaro Otsuka
The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to come
is a 3-day Exhibition Event merging scientific & artistic projects in a digital environment (Mixed Reality (XR) > Augmented & Virtual Reality | AR & VR)
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TAKACS Zsuzsanna (Gerlich), DE LA CONCEPCION Juan Carlos (Dagdas), FEDL Anna (Busslinger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Developmental Origins of Health and Disease and the Preimplantation Window
Speaker: Sophie PetropoulosInstitute: Karolinska InstitutetHost: Nicolas Rivron
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GALLI Lucrezia (Tanaka), HORN Sabrina (Peters), JACOBS Jelle (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Richard FlavellInstitute: Yale University School of MedicineHost: Meinrad Busslinger
Next Generation of 3D Cell Culture, Magnetic 3D Cell Culture and Bioprinting
Speaker: Glauco SouzaInstitute: Greiner Bio-One North AmericaHost: Greiner Bio-One
Mechanisms of folding and assembly of newly synthesized proteins
Speaker: Bernd BukauInstitute: ZMBHHost: Elif Karagäz
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: POPOVA Mariia (Peters), RITSCHKA Birgit (Tanaka), DOMBEY Rodolphe (Mari-Ordonez)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: INCARBONE Marco (Mittelsten Scheid), GRUNDMANN Lorenz (Haselbach), NEMCKO Filip (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TELONI Federico (Gerlich), WALLNER Eva-Sophie (Dolan), PUSHPA BOSE Greeshma (Urban)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LIU Haijun (Nordborg), NAVALAYE Tsimafei (Ameres), NAAS Julia (Von Haeseler)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Regulation of protein biogenesis in health and disease
Speaker: Danny NedialkovaInstitute: MPI of BiochemistryHost: Clemens Plaschka
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: CHUGUNOVA Anastasia (Pauli), RÖTZER Johannes (Dolan), JONSSON Gustav (Penninger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KLAUS Loni (Stark), BENEDUM Johannes (Slade), LITTLEBOY Jamie (Knoblich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Daniel MucidaInstitute: Rockefeller UniversityHost: Meinrad Busslinger
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ANTONIOLI Sumire (Leonard), LI Chong (Knoblich), PABST Gabriel (Zuber)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Lacra BintuInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: Alex Stark
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DIEZMA Laura (Nordborg/Mari-Ordonez), GHOSH Dipannita (Grade), PATEL Rajvi (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be annouced
Speaker: Adele MarstonInstitute: Wellcome Centre Cell Biology, University of EdinburghHost: Daniel Gerlich, Joao Matos
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KORDIC Darja (Clausen), DEIBER Sebastian (Dolan), GEHRE Maja (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZMAJKOVIC Jakub (Zuber), MAURER Eric (Peters), NOGALES MORAL Adrian (Köhler)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HUETTER Christiane (Menche), BASSAT Elad (Tanaka), PETRZILEK Jan (Ameres)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KALIS Robert (Zuber), NAJM Ramsey (Knoblich), GEROCZ Emoke (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: AUGUSTO Pedro (Zimmer), POLISSENI Claudio (Tanaka), ELEWAUT Anais (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GUO Pin (Dolan), DAO Pauline (Tessmar), JAVALI Alok(Rivron)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STUART Hannah (Tanaka), KORESHOVA Alevtina (Burga), ZHAN Ni (Dagdas)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: CRONIN Shona (Obenauf), KANNO Tatsuo (Berger), PACHINGER Claudia (Dammermann)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Laurent NguyenInstitute: University of LiegeHost: Noelia Urban
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHUKLA Vikas (Berger), RODRIGUEZ TERRONES Diego (Tanaka), WIDEN Sonya (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Stein AertsInstitute: VIB Center for Brain and Disease ResearchHost: Alex Stark
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VOICHEK Yoav (Norborg), SESTINI Giovanni (Rivron), PETROULAKI Vasiliki (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BRUNNER Hanna (Haselbach), FRIDRICH Arie (Berger), AKULOVA Vasilina (Swarts)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DE SANTIS Martina (Rivron), BUENDIA Daniel (Mari-Ordonez), VISANPATTANASIN Supapat (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Ron DrorInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: David Haselbach
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VOJTEK Matus (Stark), LEHMANN Christian (Knoblich), LEE Du-Hwa (Belkhadir)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Petra SchwilleInstitute: MPI of BiochemistryHost: Alwin Köhler
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SPICER Maximilian (Gerlich), ESTIVILL I CAPAAROS Guillem (Obenauf), MURPHY Paul (Clausen)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Imaging processes of cell division across scales
Speaker: Jan EllenbergInstitute: EMBL HeidelbergHost: Shotaro Otsuka
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: JÄGER Christina (Van der Veeken), PRADHAN Saurabh (Rivron), RAFANEL Baptiste (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BELACIC Katarina (Haselbach), HARVEY Zachary (Berger), MILOJKOVIC Lidija (Urban)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GOMEZ SEGALAS Alba (Balzarotti), KOLESNIKOVA Sofia (Gerlich), HANDLER Dominik (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Dirk InzeInstitute: VIBHost: Andreas Bachmair
Title to be announced
Speaker: Ian HicksonInstitute: University of CopenhagenHost: Joao Matos
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BAUCELLS Julia (Dammermann), PANAROTTO-PERICLES Melanie (Peters), VOICHEK Maya Shinan (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Maria LlorensInstitute: CBMHost: Noelia Urban
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DMITRIEV Vladimir (Goloborodko), HISANAGA Tetsuya (Berger), KHALDIEH Nina (Ameres)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SOMMER Theresa (Rivron), SHIRZADIAN YAZD Mehrta (Balzarotti), VERTESY Abel (Knoblich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: POLIKARPOVA Anastasia (Tanaka), CHAKRABORTY Oisorjo (Grade), CORSI Flavia (Goloborodko)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: FESSELET Jeanne (Kovarik), KHAURATOVIC Uladzislava (Matos/Golobordko), SHEN Jingyi (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Roger GeigerInstitute: Institute for Research in Biomedicine, BellinzonaHost: Joris Van der Veeken
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PERNEBRINK Mattias (Tanaka), HOHMANN Ulrich (Brennecke/Plaschka), MANOLOVA Toni (Falk)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: WU Shuangyang (Dolan), SCARAMUZZA Federico (Tessmar), KROGULL Daniel (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Joanna WysockaInstitute: Stanford School of MedicineHost: Christa Bücker
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HEIDARI KHOEI Heidar (Rivron), BELL Caelan (Gerlich), GALUSKA Philipp (Djinovic)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Daniele CanzioInstitute: UCSFHost: Anton Goloborodko
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ABDRAKHMANOV Alibek (Dagdas), WILLIAMS Thomas (Clausen), GEISMANN Maximilian (Balzarotti)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: JELENIC Stela (Saha), PACHECO FIALLOS Franics Belen (Plaschka), FONTES OLIVEIRA Tiago Manuel (Penninger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: NAGUMO WONG Sakurako (Knoblich), LORENZO ORTS Laura (Pauli), ROSS James (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RAFFL Gerald (Ameres), SAJTOS Bettina (Zuber), ISHIHARA Keisuke (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Anshul KundajeInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: Alex Stark
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STEINACKER Thomas (Gerlich), EDER Stephanie (Zimmer), TIKANOVA Polina (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SCHELLHAAS Ulla (Plaschka/Ameres), RUSCH Emma (Goloborodko), CLAVEL Marion (Dagdas)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RADHAKRISHNA PILLAI Balashankar (Saha), ADELMANN Leonie (Raible), BLAHA Andreas (Pauli)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VULIN Milica (Obenauf), MEREITER Stefan (Penninger), BINDL Michael (Leeb)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LORBEER Franziska (Stark), MULVEY Hugh (Dolan), PÜHRINGER Florian (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HOLZER Elisabeth (Martens), COLOZZA Gabriele (Koo), FALCON CHAVEZ Francisco (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RÖHSNER Josef (Pauli), OKUN Anastasia (Karagöz), JUNG Pauline (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LICHT-MAYER Simon (Penninger), CAYGILL Samuel (Dolan), MIGOTTI Mario (Konrat)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Feng ShaoInstitute: National Institute of Biological Sciences, BeijingHost: Pavel Kovarik
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHUNMUGAM Dhanlakshmi (Baccarini), CECI GINISTRELLI Lavinia (Mendjan), VORLÄNDER Matthias (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Lydia FinleyInstitute: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterHost: Johannes Zuber
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOK Jian Yi (Berger), HUMER Theresa (Pauli), SODERHOLM Adrian (Versteeg)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Stephan GruberInstitute: University of LausanneHost: Franz Klein
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STRAVS Ana (Knoblich), SANCHEZ DE MEDINA HERNANDEZ Victor (Dagdas), KRUMWIEDE Luisa (Gaidt)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TAVERINI Katherina (Urban), SHETTY Kavya Krishna (Stark), CORIC Aida (Tessmar)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Nancy KlecknerInstitute: Harvard UniversityHost: Franz Klein
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GRABARCZYK Daniel (Clausen), PROTELL I DE MONTSERRAT Julia (Brennecke/Plaschka), MANCHENO JUNCOSA Estela (Mendjan)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Edward LemkeInstitute: IMB MainzHost: David Haselbach
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ATTRILL Sarah (Dolan), UIJTTEWAAL Esther (Elling), SCIBISZ Grzegorz (Karagöz)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DOLESCHALL Balint (Knoblich), FENG Sonjie (Bücker), BOURGUET Pierre (Berger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Rotem SorekInstitute: Weizmann Institute of Science, RehovotHost: Julius Brennecke
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HORENKAMP Simone (Tanaka), CASEY Chloe (Dolan), KAPRAL Thomas (Zagrovic)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOBAKHIDZE George (Dong), ANGELOPOULOU Eleni (Ellis), PACHANO Tomas (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RAMIREZ America (Köhler), VÖLKL Isabella (Bücker), HOANG Oi Pui (Technau)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Mounia LaghaInstitute: Institut de Genetique Moleculaire de MontpellierHost: Andrea Pauli
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LEITNER Moritz (Martinez), VOGEL Alexander (Yudushkin), KETTEL Paulina (Karagöz)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TSAREV Aleksandr (Ameres), FIESELER Charlie (Zimmer), ABESAMIS Kim Ivan (Dong)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STREUBEL Susanna (Dolan), KLEIFELD Justus (Urban), ORLIC Lucija (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHULKINA Alexandra (Versteeg), GEETHA Sowmya (Jantsch), MADHUSUDHANAN Jalaja (Zimmer)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOLLER Manuela (Campbell), GUPTA Ankit (Goloborodko), SCHMÖLLERL Johannes (Zuber)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MARCHIORI Elisa (Van der Veeken), ACHLEITNER Anja (Martens), FAAS Victoria (Clausen)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SALEWSKIJ Kirill (Penninger), KIRCHGATTERER Paul (Gaidt), REN Kaike (Otsuka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MIHAILOVIC Milica (Karagöz), BELL Lillie (Clausen)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
+43 1 4277 240 01
Today: 9am - 5pm
Vienna Biocenter (VBC)
Dr.-Bohr-Gasse 9, 1030 Vienna