Leppek Group
Group leader
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Kathrin Leppek
Phone (Office): +49 228 287-51158
Phone (Lab): +49 228 287-51172
Fax: +49 228 287-16094
North Zone, Building B12
Ground Floor, Room EG-412
Regulation of gene expression, the decision which proteins to make from an identical genome, is essential to specify cell types and tissues. Our lab focuses on how such regulation is executed through the ribosome and mRNA interactions and what the decisive molecular players are, particularly in context of the innate immune response.
The ribosome, one of life’s most ancient molecular machines, has recently been revealed to be an active regulator of gene expression. Ribosomes are not all identical in composition and do not translate all mRNAs equally: “specialized” ribosomes preferentially translate certain transcripts to diversify gene expression. It is poorly understood how ribosome components, proteins and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), mediate such selectivity. The regulatory capacity of rRNA in translation, one of the oldest molecules on earth, has long remained unexplored.
Our lab studies a fundamentally new mode of gene regulation by which rRNA regions exposed on the outer shell of the ribosome called rRNA expansion segments directly bind to selective transcripts to control mRNA- and species-specific translation (Leppek et al., 2020; Leppek, Byeon et al., 2021) and how rRNA-mRNA recognition patterns thereby diversify the proteome. Ribosomes have thereby evolved the ability to discriminate which proteins are made in a cell through selective translation via rRNA. We combine innovative RNA biochemistry and RNA-based technology development with model systems ranging from yeast to macrophages. Through this, our lab aims to decipher how rRNA-directed specialized translation – how ribosomes recognize, bind and translate selective mRNAs – shapes gene expression to understand the role of rRNA expansion segments on ribosomes in innate immune responses where customized translation may underlie dynamic cellular specification.
Regulation of gene expression, the decision which proteins to make from an identical genome, is essential to specify cell types and tissues. Our lab focuses on how such regulation is executed through the ribosome and mRNA interactions and what the decisive molecular players are, particularly in context of the innate immune response.
The ribosome, one of life’s most ancient molecular machines, has recently been revealed to be an active regulator of gene expression. Ribosomes are not all identical in composition and do not translate all mRNAs equally: “specialized” ribosomes preferentially translate certain transcripts to diversify gene expression. It is poorly understood how ribosome components, proteins and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), mediate such selectivity. The regulatory capacity of rRNA in translation, one of the oldest molecules on earth, has long remained unexplored.
Our lab studies a fundamentally new mode of gene regulation by which rRNA regions exposed on the outer shell of the ribosome called rRNA expansion segments directly bind to selective transcripts to control mRNA- and species-specific translation (Leppek et al., 2020; Leppek, Byeon et al., 2021) and how rRNA-mRNA recognition patterns thereby diversify the proteome. Ribosomes have thereby evolved the ability to discriminate which proteins are made in a cell through selective translation via rRNA. We combine innovative RNA biochemistry and RNA-based technology development with model systems ranging from yeast to macrophages. Through this, our lab aims to decipher how rRNA-directed specialized translation – how ribosomes recognize, bind and translate selective mRNAs – shapes gene expression to understand the role of rRNA expansion segments on ribosomes in innate immune responses where customized translation may underlie dynamic cellular specification.
Group Members
Aishwarya Gopal, Doctoral candidate
Phone: +49 228 287-51172
Martin Haimann, Doctoral candidate
Phone: +49 228 287-51172
Philipp B. Koch, Doctoral candidate
Phone: +49 228 287-51172
Samyukta Narayanan, Doctoral candidate
Phone: +49 228 287-51172
Alina Niedzwetzki, Lab technician
Phone: +49 228 287-51172
Jobs available at the Leppek Group
Contact:
We are always interested in recruiting highly motivated students and postdocs and thus encourage applications from prospective candidates at any time. Our lab is a growing, exciting, creative and inclusive place to mentor the next generation of scientists.
