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All cells of an organism contain the same genome. However, the pattern of gene expression differs considerably between different cell types and also changes over time during development. One way to regulate the expression of genes is achieved by small RNAs that together with Argonaute proteins lead to gene silencing in a process called RNA interference (RNAi). In order to generate a robust RNAi response, the small RNAs must be present in sufficient quantities. How is it decided from which endogenous RNA transcripts small RNAs are produced and how are specific small RNAs then selected for amplification process? In the nuclear RNAi pathway small RNA – Argonaute complexes induce histone methylation and thereby heterochromatin formation. How are the Histone methyltransferases recruited and what are the factors involved in the process? Our research will provide fundamental knowledge of the mechanism of gene silencing and in general on the regulation of gene expression.
Our group uses an integrated structural biology approach, with structural biological techniques forming the core (X-ray crystallography & single-particle electron microscopy) and complemented by biochemical and biophysical approaches. Our research focuses on the mechanistic characterization of protein complexes, which we obtain by two complementary methods. In the bottom-up approach, we produce and purify individual components or protein subcomplexes, which then can be used for the gradual build-up of increasingly larger assemblies. In the top-down approach, a single subunit of a protein complex carries an affinity tag, which allows purifying stable complexes from endogenous sources that can be utilized for structural studies, but for example also for the identification of new interaction partners by mass spectrometry. To complement our biochemical and structural analysis, we perform in vivo experiments together with our collaboration partners.
Sebastian studied Biochemistry at the University of Bayreuth. He received his Ph.D. from Heidelberg University, where he worked on targeting of membrane proteins with Irmi Sinning. During his postdoc with Elena Conti at the MPI of Biochemistry, he combined structural biology and biochemistry to study eukaryotic RNA degradation. From March 2019 he is a group leader at the Max Perutz Labs in Vienna.
MTR4 is the central cofactor of the RNA Exosome in the nucleus. In addition to providing helicase activity, MTR4 also acts as a central platform for the recruitment of various RNA-binding proteins like NOP53, AIR2, NVL or NRDE2. They all bind to the KOW domain of MTR4 in a mutually exclusive manner using a conserved motif.
To reconstitute multimeric protein complexes we employ a bottom-up approach, in which we first purify several proteins individually and then combine them to assemble complexes. The purified protein complexes are then used for biochemical and structural characterization.
Structural basis of PETISCO complex assembly during piRNA biogenesis in C. elegans
Perez-Borrajero, Cecilia; Podvalnaya, Nadezda; Holleis, Kay; Lichtenberger, Raffael; Karaulanov, Emil; Simon, Bernd; Basquin, Jérôme; Hennig, Janosch; Ketting, René F; Falk, Sebastian
A ribonuclease III involved in virulence of Mucorales fungi has evolved to cut exclusively single-stranded RNA.
Cánovas-Márquez, José Tomás; Falk, Sebastian; Nicolás, Francisco E; Padmanabhan, Subramanian; Zapata-Pérez, Rubén; Sánchez-Ferrer, Álvaro; Navarro, Eusebio; Garre, Victoriano
The MTR4 helicase recruits nuclear adaptors of the human RNA exosome using distinct arch-interacting motifs
Lingaraju, Mahesh; Johnsen, Dennis; Schlundt, Andreas; Langer, Lukas M.; Basquin, Jérôme; Sattler, Michael; Jensen, Torben Heick; Falk, Sebastian; Conti, Elena
Structure of the nuclear exosome captured on a maturing preribosome.
Schuller, Jan Michael; Falk, Sebastian; Fromm, Lisa; Hurt, Ed; Conti, Elena
Mpp6 Incorporation in the Nuclear Exosome Contributes to RNA Channeling through the Mtr4 Helicase.
Falk, Sebastian; Bonneau, Fabien; Ebert, Judith; Kögel, Alexander; Conti, Elena
Structural insights into the interaction of the nuclear exosome helicase Mtr4 with the preribosomal protein Nop53.
Falk, Sebastian; Tants, Jan-Niklas; Basquin, Jerôme; Thoms, Matthias; Hurt, Ed; Sattler, Michael; Conti, Elena
Structure of the RBM7-ZCCHC8 core of the NEXT complex reveals connections to splicing factors.
Falk, Sebastian; Finogenova, Ksenia; Melko, Mireille; Benda, Christian; Lykke-Andersen, Søren; Jensen, Torben Heick; Conti, Elena
The molecular architecture of the TRAMP complex reveals the organization and interplay of its two catalytic activities.
Falk, Sebastian; Weir, John R; Hentschel, Jendrik; Reichelt, Peter; Bonneau, Fabien; Conti, Elena
Project title: “Characterization of piRNA processing factors in C. elegans" (I 6110)
doc.funds "RNA@core - Molecular mechanisms in RNA biology" (DOC177)
Coordinator Javier Martinez (Medical Univeristy of Vienna) and Deputy Coordinator: Sebastian Falk (University of Vienna)
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: WU Shuangyang (Dolan), SCARAMUZZA Federico (Tessmar), KROGULL Daniel (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
The recently discovered ties between teeth and infants in human evolution
Speaker: Leslea HluskoInstitute: CENIEHHost: Nicole Grunstra
Characterisation of Vpr1, a novel protein involved in DSB repair
Speaker: Mustafa AlaaboInstitute: Dept. Chromosome Biology, Univ. ViennaHost: Franz Klein
Probing multi-scale dynamics in complex fluids and biological systems with differential dynamic microscopy
Speaker: Roberto CerbinoInstitute: University of ViennaHost: Arthur Sedivy
Marine symbioses fueled by wood
Speaker: Dan DistelInstitute: Ocean Genome Legacy CenterHost: Jillian Petersen
New insights in gene regulation and chromatin folding by enhancers and cohesin
Speaker: Wouter de LaatInstitute: Hubrecht InstituteHost: Christa Bücker
Molecular mechanism analysis involved in mitochondrial sheath formation and spermiation processes using gene-manipulated mice
Speaker: Keisuke ShimadaInstitute: Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka UniversityHost: Andrea Pauli
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: JELENIC Stela (Saha), ABDRAKHMANOV Alibek (Dagdas), GALUSKA Philipp (Djinovic)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Exploiting a unique post-translational modification to enhance subunit selection and activity of a tumor suppressor complex
Speaker: Derek TaylorInstitute: Departments of Pharmacology and Biochemistry,Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OHIOHost: Thomas Leonard and Egon Ogris
From non-coding RNAs to non-canonical Mutations in Cancer
Speaker: Sven DiederichsInstitute: DKFZHost: Julius Brennecke
Chemical tools to study nucleic acids by biophysical methods
Speaker: Christoph KreutzInstitute: University of InnsbruckHost: Georg Kontaxis
Microbial trait-based scaling from single populations to communities with consequences for ecosystem processes
Speaker: Ashish MalikInstitute: University of AberdeenHost: Andreas Richter
How chromosome architecture shapes brain architecture
Speaker: Daniele CanzioInstitute: UCSFHost: Anton Goloborodko
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MAYER Rupert (Proteomics Tech Hub), WILLIAMS Thomas (Clausen), GEISMANN Maximilian (Balzarotti)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Comprehensive and quantitative characterization of aneuploidy phenotypes
Speaker: Manuela Sophie KollerInstitute: Dept. Chromosome Biology, Univ. ViennaHost: Chris Campbell
Cellular crosstalk in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Speaker: Silvia CappelloInstitute: MPI of Psychiatry MunichHost: Jürgen Knoblich
Top down and bottom up exploration of human gut microbial communities
Speaker: Karoline FaustInstitute: KU LeuvenHost: Lucia Fuchslueger
Title to be announced
Speaker: Chris OostenbrinkInstitute: BOKU WienHost: Kristina Djinovic-Carugo
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PACHECO FIALLOS Franics Belen (Plaschka), FONTES OLIVEIRA Tiago Manuel (Penninger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
The Mirage of Biosocial Complexity: Critique and Collaboration Around the Tools of Epigenetics
Speaker: Luca ChiapperinoInstitute: Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), University of LausanneHost: Vienna Open Lab
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KHALDIEH Nina (Ameres), LORENZO ORTS Laura (Pauli), ROSS James (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Samer HattarInstitute: NIHHost: Kristin Tessmar
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RAFFL Gerald (Ameres), SAJTOS Bettina (Zuber), LANGER Christoph (Gerlich)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), VULIN Milica (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RADHAKRISHNA PILLAI Balashankar (Saha), MIGOTTI Mario (Konrat), RÖHNSER Josef (Pauli)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BELL Caelan (Gerlich), 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: BLAHA Andreas (Pauli), OKUN Anastasia (Karagöz), JUNG Pauline (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Sir Philip CohenInstitute: University of DundeeHost: Egon Ogris
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LICHT-MAYER Simon (Penninger), CAYGILL Samuel (Dolan), ADELMANN Leonie (Raible)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: Jan LöweInstitute: MRC Laboratory of Molecular BiologyHost: Jan-Michael Peters
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOK Jian Yi (Berger), GROH Roan (Dagdas), 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
Title to be announced
Speaker: Lydia FinleyInstitute: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterHost: Johannes Zuber
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STRAVS Ana (Knoblich), SANCHEZ DE MEDINA HERNANDEZ Victor (Dagdas), HORENKAMP Simone (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PROTELL I DE MONTSERRAT Julia (Brennecke/Plaschka), NAGUMO WONG Sakurako (Knoblich), CORIC Aida (Tessmar)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Nancy KlecknerInstitute: Harvard UniversityHost: Franz Klein
Title to be announced
Speaker: Vera Gorbunova and Andrei SeluanovInstitute: University of RochesterHost: EDI group at GMI/IMBA/IMP
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GRABARCZYK Daniel (Clausen), TAVERINI Katherina (Urban), 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: KRUMWIEDE Luisa (Gaidt), 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
Title to be announced
Speaker: Stephan GrillInstitute: MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and GeneticsHost: Clemens Plaschka
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
Title to be announced
Speaker: Martin HetzerInstitute: IST AustriaHost: Jürgen Knoblich
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TSAREV Aleksandr (Ameres), FIESELER Charlie (Zimmer), ABESAMIS Kim Ivan (Dong)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: HEIDARI KHOEI Heidar (Rivron), KLEIFELD Justus (Urban), ORLIC Lucija (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Ian HicksonInstitute: University of CopenhagenHost: Joao Matos
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), TELONI Federico (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STANKUNAS Edvinas (Köhler), LEV Itamar (Zimmer)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: OBERHUEMER Michael (Leeb), GONAZLEZ ALVARADO Maria (Grade), SCHOLZ Julia (Otsuka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: AMANN Sascha (Haselbach), KASHKO Nataliia (Matos), BAUER Bernd (Martens)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LEE Joonsun (Elling), LEYVA GONZALEZ Marco (Tanaka), MILIVOJEV Nadja (Raible)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GAO Peng (Dagdas), GOGOVA Rebeca (Clausen), PAVLOVA Anzhela (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: AYALA MUNOZ Farja (Plaschka), VETRANO Pamela (Ramundo), YU Changwei (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KONSTANTINOU Andri (Obenauf), NAVA GARCIA Marintia (Dagdas), WOLFF Uyen Le Phuong (Jantsch V.)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HARTMANN Felix (Matos), PASSERA Alessandro (Balzarotti), SANCHEZ BURGOS Laura (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SILVA Raquel (Foisner), HODAKOVA Zuzana (Haselbach), MYLARSHCHIKOV Dmitry (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Johannes WalterInstitute: Harvard Medical SchoolHost: Jan-Michael Peters
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PIECH Lucas (Leonard), DE LA CONCEPCION Juan Carlos (Dagdas), POPOVA Mariia (Peters)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GALLI Lucrezia (Tanaka), DIAS Ana Beatriz (Slade), TAKACS Zsuzsanna (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KNIEST Judith (Haselbach), KELLNER Max (Penninger), BABADEI Olga (Decker)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BOHAUMILITZKY Lena (Pinheiro), RAIDERS Stephan (Tanaka), PRLESI Ines (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZHAN Ni (Dagdas), PITASI Mattia (Leeb), HEINZL Monika (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VELETI Lalitha (Pauli), ENGL Magdalena (Slade), NAAS Julia (Van Haeseler)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: FARAWAY Rupert (Plaschka), GRUNDMANN Lorenz (Haselbach), KLEINWAECHTER Ava (Slade)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RÖTZER Johannes (Dolan), MIOCIC-STOSIC Fran (Zagrovic), RITSCHKA Birgit (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PUSHPA BOSE Greeshma (Urban), RAINA Shiviya (Dammermann)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: COUTURIER Jeanne (Jachowicz), PABST Gabriel (Zuber), ROFFAY Chloe (Pinheiro)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RUSSETT Colleen (Berger), NAJM Ramsey (Knoblich), HOLLAUS David (Gaidt)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHARMA Sanskriti (Ellis), JANKOWSKA Julia (Ameres), PAPAREDDY Ranjith (Dagdas)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MAURER Eric (Peters), BHARDWAJ Vishakha (Schlögelhofer), DIEZMA Laura (Nordborg/Mari-Ordonez)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GUZMAN PEREZ Sebastian (Martinez), LITTLEBOY Jamie (Knoblich), RIABOV Daria (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZEILER Christina (Kovarik), DOCAVO GARCIA Antonio (Jachowicz), Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZMAJKOVIC Jakub (Zuber), DEL CHIARO Alessia (Dagdas), ANTONIOLI Sumire (Leonard)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HUETTER Christiane (Menche), KRACHT Laura (Knoblich), SANDRU Ana Maria (Baccarini)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BENEDUM Johannes (Slade), KALIS Robert (Zuber), PATEL Rajvi (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PROTSENKO Liudmila (Brennecke), SHETTY Kavya (Hein), BASSAT Elad (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs