Welcome
This Lab has moved! Dirk-Jan Scheffers is now Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands |
Head of Laboratory |
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Dirk-Jan Scheffers | Group Members | ||
NB As of October 2010, Dirk-Jan Scheffers will be Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands | |||
Research Interests
Bacteria carefully regulate their shape by coordinating cell division and growth of the cell wall. These processes require the coordinated action of various proteins which are thought to be organised in large complexes. The molecular composition of these complexes however, is not known, and studies into the composition of these complexes are complicated by the fact that most of the proteins involved are embedded in the bacterial membrane.
The aim of the Bacterial Membrane Proteomics laboratory is to isolate complexes of membrane proteins involved in cell division and cell wall growth using native conditions. This will allow the identification of complex components, study of the protein-protein contacts involved in complex formation, and the analysis of factors involved in targeting of complex components to their site of action. Initially, the studies will be undertaken in the model organisms Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Once established, the methods will be applied to membrane protein complexes involved in other processes like respiration, signalling etc, and other micro-organisms.
Group Members
Former Members:
Anabela de Sousa Borges, Bolsa de Investigação, january - july 2010
Vasco Manuel Martins Pereira, march - may 2010
Joana Cristina da Silva Sales Dias, Bolsa de Iniciação à Investigação, january - november 2009
Inês Filipa Fernandes de Oliveira, Bolsa de Investigação, may - november 2009
Dr. Rolf K. Bredemeier, Bolsa de Investigação, march - september 2009
Selected Publications (full list)
- Scheffers D.-J. (2008) The effect of MinC on FtsZ polymerization is pH dependent and can be counteracted by ZapA. FEBS Letters 582: 2601-2608
- Formstone A., Carballido-López R., Noirot P., Errington J. and Scheffers D.-J. (2008) Localization and interactions of teichoic acid synthetic enzymes in Bacillus subtilis. Journal of Bacteriology 190:1812-1821
- Scheffers D.-J., Robichon, C., Haan, G.J., Den Blaauwen, T., Koningstein, G. Van Bloois, D.W., Beckwith, J. and Luirink, J. (2007) Contribution of the FtsQ transmembrane segment to localization to the cell division site. Journal of Bacteriology, 189: 7273-7280
- Scheffers, D.-J. and Pinho, M.G. (2005) Bacterial cell wall synthesis – new insights from localization studies. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 69: 585-607
