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We address fundamental questions in developmental biology: How are we made? How are cell identities defined and maintained in order to provide the right cell type at the right time for proper development? What are the central molecular players for cell-fate choice? Our main research efforts focus on some of the first differentiation decisions taken during embryonic stem cell commitment.
The Leeboratory approaches cell fate choice from multiple angles. We study epigenetics, RNA biology and signalling to pursue a holistic approach to understand differentiation. We use genetics and high-throughput methodology combined with systems biology approaches to delineate the molecular rules of cell-fate decision. Embryonic stem cells and various differentiation strategies are our main experimental model systems.
Martin performed his PhD thesis in the Wutz lab at the IMP in Vienna. From 2011 to 2015 he was a post-doc in the lab of Austin Smith at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. Since 2015 he is group leader and since 2021 Associate Professor at the Max Perutz Labs where the Leeboratory works on deciphering the molecular control of cell fate decisions.
In 2011, together with Anton Wutz, we reporter the first stable and fully pluripotent haploid mouse ES cell lines. This breakthrough discovery has since enabled a multitude of genetic screens and has also been instrumental in high resolution single cell based nuclear structures as well as the birth of monoparental mice.
In 2014 we utilized the potential of haploid ES cells in an insertional mutagenesis screen to identify genes that regulate the first cell fate decision in ES cell differentiation, the exit from pluripotency. We showed that haploid ES cells are a highly efficient platform for genetic screens in a developmentally relevant context.
NMD is required for timely cell fate transitions by fine-tuning gene expression and regulating translation.
Huth, Michelle; Santini, Laura; Galimberti, Elena; Ramesmayer, Julia; Titz-Teixeira, Fabian; Sehlke, Robert; Oberhuemer, Michael; Stummer, Sarah; Herzog, Veronika; Garmhausen, Marius; Romeike, Merrit; Chugunova, Anastasia; Leesch, Friederike; Holcik, Laurenz; Weipoltshammer, Klara; Lackner, Andreas; Schoefer, Christian; von Haeseler, Arndt; Buecker, Christa; Pauli, Andrea; Ameres, Stefan L; Smith, Austin; Beyer, Andreas; Leeb, Martin
Genomic imprinting in mouse blastocysts is predominantly associated with H3K27me3.
Santini, Laura; Halbritter, Florian; Titz-Teixeira, Fabian; Suzuki, Toru; Asami, Maki; Ma, Xiaoyan; Ramesmayer, Julia; Lackner, Andreas; Warr, Nick; Pauler, Florian; Hippenmeyer, Simon; Laue, Ernest; Farlik, Matthias; Bock, Christoph; Beyer, Andreas; Perry, Anthony C F; Leeb, Martin
Cooperative genetic networks drive embryonic stem cell transition from naïve to formative pluripotency.
Lackner, Andreas; Sehlke, Robert; Garmhausen, Marius; Giuseppe Stirparo, Giuliano; Huth, Michelle; Titz-Teixeira, Fabian; van der Lelij, Petra; Ramesmayer, Julia; Thomas, Henry F; Ralser, Meryem; Santini, Laura; Galimberti, Elena; Sarov, Mihail; Stewart, A Francis; Smith, Austin; Beyer, Andreas; Leeb, Martin
Genetic exploration of the exit from self-renewal using haploid embryonic stem cells.
Leeb, Martin; Dietmann, Sabine; Paramor, Maike; Niwa, Hitoshi; Smith, Austin
Derivation of haploid embryonic stem cells from mouse embryos.
Leeb, Martin; Wutz, Anton
Polycomb complexes act redundantly to repress genomic repeats and genes.
Leeb, Martin; Pasini, Diego; Novatchkova, Maria; Jaritz, Markus; Helin, Kristian; Wutz, Anton
The Leeb Group is supported through the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" program.
The Group Leeb is a member of the special Doctoral Program "Signaling Mechanisms in Cellular Homeostasis" reviewed and funded by the Austrian Research Fund FWF.
Mechanisms of endo-mesodermal lineage choice (P35637; 2022-2025)
Execution of cell fate choice by cooperative gene activities (I5958; cooperation with Prof. Andreas Beyer, CECAD Cologne; 2023-2026)
Regulation of ES cell differentiation by NMD (P 31334; 2019-2022)
Systems Level Analysis of ES Cell Differentiation (I 3786; 2019-2021)
Schroedinger return fellowship: "Mechanisms of ES cell differentiation"
18th Microsymposium on RNA Biology
The „Microsymposium on RNA Biology“ is an international conference that brings together young scientists, junior and senior group leaders, and company representatives from all over the world to present and discuss their latest findings in the exciting field of small RNAs and beyond. The Microsymposium was founded in 2005 and has established itself as the major small RNA meeting in Europe. It is organized by the four research institutions IMBA, IMP, GMI and the Max Perutz Labs as well as by the RNA community of the Vienna BioCenter.
Transformation Reactions of Organic Contaminants and Oxygen: From Field Sites to Reaction Mechanisms
Nickel impact on human health, from bacterial infections to cancer
Multiscale plant bioimaging using advanced microscopy
Parthenogenesis, cryptobiosis, and the survival in extreme environmental conditions
Evading ageing: Mitochondrial and proteostatic adaptations in oocytes
Genomes in Rhodnius prolixus symbiotic system
Stem cells, immune evasion and metastasis in colorectal cancer
Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium 2024
The Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium is an annual international meeting taking place in the beautiful capital of Austria, aiming to bring together scholars from various fields studying ubiquitin/Ubl biology and protein degradation in a personal, family-like atmosphere, as suggested by the name.
The evolution and development of mollusc shells
Unraveling the Complexity of Crossover Regulation in C. elegans
Dynamics of 3D Genome Structure and Function
How superworms can help to solve our plastic waste crisis
Title to be announced
New players in an old pathway: biology of methanogens of the TACK superphylum
Shaping morphogen gradients: from molecules to tissues and back
Title to be announced
Studying stressed cells by in situ structural biology
Exploring Microbial Resilience: Unravelling Escherichia coliand#x27;s Stress Response at the Level of Protein Synthesis
Arbuscular mycorrhiza development and function
Deep homology and deep diversity: Evolving genetic toolkits for making and sensing light
The evolution of cell type identity and tissue microecology at the fetal-maternal interface
The unanticipated roles of PICIs and phages in bacterial evolution
Chemical targeting of subcellular protein localization
Origin and diversification of gut-derived organs in chordates
Job's Dilemma for the Genome: Why Bad Things Happen to Good Chromosomes
Connections between carbon and nitrogen cycling in the ocean
Understanding how the DNA-loop-extruding protein complex Condensin folds a chromatinized genome into mitotic chromosomes
From Roads to Rivers? Occurrence and environmental fate of tire and road wear particles and of tire-related chemicals
FENS 2024 Satellite event: Home cage behavior monitoring at the interface of animal welfare and neuroscience
Striking physiology and cell biology of (marine) environmental microorganisms
Mechanisms controlling maintenance of cohesin dependent loops
Title to be announced