Signaling and Post-translational Modifications

Signaling and Post-translational Modifications

Proteins can be regulated by a multitude of different post-translational modifications (PTMs), conferring complexity to their function and stability. These modifications are essential components of signalling pathways in the course of development, but often also in response to changes in the environment. We are working on the molecular mechanisms of specific PTMs in plants, such as ubiquitination, phosphorylation or different kinds of glycosylation, and how they contribute to the adaptation of growth and development.  Moreover, we try to understand at the molecular level how transcription factors work in the context of chromatin to find their targets and to function according to the “instructions” they receive through signaling pathways from their environment. With these questions in mind we work on the saprophytic species Aspergillus nidulans and on two plant-pathogenic Fusarium species which infect wheat, maize and rice.