Spores as specialist survivors and multifunctional proteins

No. 17.3 - 12.04.2023

Researchers at Göttingen University involved in research projects funded by Human Frontier Science Program

University of Göttingen scientists are involved in two international research projects funded by the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and coordinated at other universities. Biophysicist Professor Andreas Janshoff from the Faculty of Chemistry, together with researchers from the University of Warwick (who lead the project), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Columbia University will investigate the dormant state and awakening of spores of bacterial and fungal origin. Neurobiologist Professor Martin Göpfert at the Faculty of Biology and Psychology will conduct research on the evolution of the multifunctionality of proteins, together with colleagues from the University of Leicester (who lead the project), the University of Toronto and Cornell University, New York.

Project "When the going gets tough: Trans-kingdom spore dormancy and revival mechanisms across scales"

In response to adverse conditions such as lack of water or nutrients, organisms from a range of different branches of the tree of life, retreat into a dormant state in the form of spores. Spores of bacteria, fungi and plants are the most resilient types known, which makes them true survivors. They can actively grow again after a dormant phase of several years and this can have a dramatic impact on the environment. Yet it is still not understood how alive the dormant spores are and how they manage to come back to life so quickly.

The research team will use genetic and microscopic methods as well as machine learning techniques to investigate the energy consumption of the spores and the mechanical properties of their outer shells at the different stages. The goal is to better understand the transition from dead to living matter. Professor Janshoff and his research group combine high-resolution microscopy with specialist methods to understand the deformation that the spores undergo, in order to elucidate the mechanical properties at different scales. In addition, they want to document the state of the spores during their "awakening".

Project “Evolution of protein multifunctionality"

Proteins can be multifunctional: they can use their polypeptide chain to perform different functions within the organism. Such multifunctional proteins are subject to different evolutionary pressures, whereby the selection of one function can disrupt the other functions, especially if the different functions overlap in the polypeptide sequence.

The international research team wants to understand the underlying mechanism, using a protein found in fruit flies known as “opsin” which has many functions. This is a photopigment used in vision which also acts as a taste receptor, organises mechanosensory cells, as well as regulating the distribution of membrane lipids. Professor Göpfert and his research group will investigate how nature plays with this protein – and how the protein reacts to this – by making targeted genetic changes and analysing the functional consequences. The main focus is how hotspots of natural selection influence the various protein functions without disturbing basic protein properties such as folding, maturation and transport.

Project “Decoding the gelatinous origins of brain evolution”

Professor Fred Wolf from the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation, together with Dr Pawel Burkhardt from the Michael Sars Centre at the University of Bergen, have also received an HFSP Research Grant. In their project, which is coordinated by Göttingen University, they will investigate the evolutionary origins of the brain. More information can be found here: www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=7047.