Dr Janneke Balk, Royal Society Research Fellow
Plant Biochemistry: Fe-S protein biogenesis
Many fundamental biological processes, including respiration, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and hydrogen production, depend strongly on proteins containing iron-sulphur (Fe-S) clusters as co-factors. How Fe-S proteins are assembled in different compartments of the eukaryotic cell, is the focus of our research.
Using reverse genetics and biochemical approaches we aim to identify new proteins involved in Fe-S cluster assembly. In addition, we are interested in how the compartmentalized pathways in the mitochondria, cytosol and plastids interact. We use various model organisms depending on the research question, including Baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), the obligate respiratory yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana or the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
Our recent work impinges on the assembly of respiratory complexes and related human diseases, bio-hydrogen production (Fe-S hydrogenases in algae) and metal homeostasis in crop plants.
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- PhD Projects available
- Job vacancies
- Collaborations:
- Florian Bittner and Ralf Mendel, Braunschweig
- Ulrich Brandt, Frankfurt
- Thomas Happe, Bochum
- Martijn Huynen, Nijmegen
- Roland Lill, Marburg
- Antonio Pierik, Marburg
- Rüdiger Hell, Heidelberg
- Contact us:
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Department of Plant Sciences
University of Cambridge
Downing Site Downing Street
CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EA
Email: jb511@@cam.ac.uk
Office +44 (0)1223 330225
Fax +44 (0)1223 333953
Yeast cells immuno-labelled for the desulphurase Nfs1p (in red). The mitochondrial activity of Nfs1p is required for Fe-S cluster assembly on Ntg2p (in green), which is localized in the nucleus and involved in DNA repair (Mühlenhoff, Balk et al, 2004 J. Biol. Chem. 279, 36906-15).