Structural Biology and Biophysics Seminar (SBBS)
D6: Structural Biology and Biophysics I – 73199 (Fall 2024)
D7: Structural Biology and Biophysics II – 73104 (Spring 2025)
(2 hrs/week; 1 CP)
Stephan Grzesiek, Sebastian Hiller, Rod Lim, Timm Maier
The Structural Biology and Biophysics Seminar series (SBBS) is organized by PhD students of the Biozentrum, University of Basel since 2009. World-leading scientists are invited to present their current work to an audience of students, researchers and PIs. Typical lectures in this series describe applications of advanced structural biology and biophysics methods to solve biological problems. Methods include NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, surface plasmon resonance and atomic force microscopy, but not only. The list of the past SBBS speakers is accessible here.
The talks take place on Tuesdays at 12:15, room U1.197
Unless mentioned, attendance is open to all interested people, without registration. The program for the spring semester 2025 is as follows:
February 18, 2025 at 12:15
SBBS introductory meeting for students If you missed the introduction meeting, feel free to contact one of the organisers by email or at the first seminar.
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March 04, 2025 at 12:15, room U1.197
Probing the dynamics and interactions of disordered proteins with single-molecule spectroscopy: From disordered complexes to phase separation
Prof. Dr. Ben Schuler Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich Zürich, Switzerland | |
SPECIAL SEMINAR: Friday April 11, 2025 at 12:15, room U1.191
Disordered but Decisive: Functional Roles of Disordered Regions in Proteins—Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Opportunities
Roughly a third of the human proteome contains disordered regions that play crucial functional roles, yet the molecular mechanisms governing how enzymes and transcription factors are regulated by their own disordered segments remain elusive. Nature employs these regions as on/off switches or molecular rheostats to fine-tune enzymatic activity, primarily through post-translational modifications. To tackle this challenge, we leverage cutting-edge NMR technology, with innovative biochemical strategies, including novel labeling schemes and protein semi-synthesis. This approach sheds light on the molecular determinants that control enzyme and transcription factor function, offering insights into the “structural” aspects of disordered protein regulation.
Prof. Dr. Haribabu Arthanari Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA | |
April 15, 2025 at 12:15, room U1.197
Exploring the molecular architecture of native actin assemblies using cryo-electron tomography
Actin contributes to an extraordinary range of cellular processes by assembling and disassembling highly dynamic and ordered structures. At the structural level, little is known about how the molecular players of the actin machinery work together inside cells to produce force-generating actin systems. In recent years, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) has become the method of choice for structural analysis of the cell interior at the molecular level. In this talk, I will give a tour of our past and present cryo-ET work on different cellular actin structures and show how they have begun to open new avenues for understanding actin assembly in situ at the actin cytoskeleton-membrane interface.
Prof. Dr. Marion Jasnin Helmholtz Pioneer Campus Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg | |
April 22, 2025 at 12:15, room U1.197
Novel macrocyclic peptide antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria based on the Thanatin scaffold
Resistance to antibiotics represent an enormous thread to mankind and the death toll due to antimicrobial resistances was recently estimated as 4.7 millions (1). As a consequence alternative antibiotics with novel mode of actions are desperately desired. Recently, novel cyclic peptide antibiotics based on the protegrin scaffold were developed (2) that target the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) transport pathway Lpt (3,4,5). They represent the first new class of antibiotics developed in the last 50 years. We recently discovered that the naturally occurring peptide thanatin binds to LptA, that is part of the LPS transport bridge across the periplasm (5). In my presentation I will show examples of derivatives of thanatin, developed in collaboration with Spexis, that bind to components of the periplasmic protein bridge involved in the LPS transport pathway(6). Peptide protein complexes are determined by solution NMR techniques and protein-peptide interactions binding affinities were determined by fluorescence polarization. By NMR and size-exclusion chromatography using suitably modified Lpt proteins LptA and LptC we could demonstrate that the protein bridge is completely dissembled upon addition of the peptides in vitro. The peptides display low MICs even against many multi-resistant strains from the WHO ESKAPE priority list. I will also describe the development of a mimic of LptD, using computational protein design, that is suitable for screening and binds to the cognate ligands LptA and Thanatin but does not contain the beta-barrel and hence is much easier to produce.
References:
Prof. Dr. Oliver Zerbe Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich Zürich, Switzerland | |
May 06, 2025 at 12:15, room U1.197
Title: TBA
Prof. Dr. Ariane Briegel Institut Pasteur Paris, France | |
May 20, 2025 at 12:15, room U1.197
Title: TBA
Prof. Dr. Robert Konrat Department of Structural and Computational Biology University of Vienna, Max Perutz Labs Vienna, Austria |
Important information for students enrolled at the University of Basel:
- You can earn one credit point (CP) by registering to the course.
- To get the CP for this course, all of the proposed seminars have to be attended from start to finish and a written exam in the form of an essay must be passed.
- It is your responsibility to check this website for eventual updates/changes to the program.
- Each in-person seminar is followed by a lunch with the speaker. Contact the host if you are interested in participating.
Links:
- List of the past SBBS speakers
- Members of the SBBS organizing committee
- Twitter: @SBBS_Biozentrum
- Zoom: TBA
