Alvaro Crevenna
Post-Doc
phone: +49 89 8578 3413
e-mail: crevenna[a]biochem.mpg.de
In general I’m very much interested in the interface between biology and physics. Specifically I’d to explore more the field of how proteins work, whether in vitro or in their natural environment. We developed a marker for actin dynamics in live cells, called Lifeact(2). We think is a great label because: 1) Binds to actin (2 uM Kd to F-actin, 100nM Kd to G-actin); 2) due to its size, its easily made with or without modifications (genetically encoded or artificially attached) making it ideal for visualization; and 3) does not interfere with actin dynamics nor with common actin binding proteins.
I’m interested in using this marker as a tool: a) to explore the role of protein flexibility in F-actin bundling/cross-linking (in collaboration with Andreas Bausch, TUM); b) to dig deeper into the mechanism of actin nucleation (in collaboration with Don C Lamb, LMU); and c) to understand the mechanism of formin-enhanced actin polymerization. For that purpose a combination of classical biochemical techniques (e.g. Protein Expression and Purification, ITC, CD, Centrifugation, etc.) as well as more novel spectroscopic approaches (e.g. PIE-FCS-FRET) will be carried out in bulk as well as in single molecule using TIRF microscopy.
I collaborate with the rest of the lab whenever I’m helpful. Together with Felix we’ve implemented a k-Space Image Correlation Spectroscopy analysis (kICS) for TIRF protein membrane data, as well as the traditional FRAP analysis for epi and TIRF.
Secondary Structure and Compliance of a Predicted Flexible Domain in Kinesin-1 Necessary for Co-operation of Motors. Crevenna A.H., Madathil S., Cohen D. N., Wagenbach M., Fahmy K., Howard J. (2008). Biophys J. 95(11):5216-27.
Lifeact: a versatile marker to visualize F-actin. Riedl J., Crevenna A.H., Kessenbrock K., Yu J.H., Neukirchen D., Bista M., Bradke F., Jenne D., Holak T.A., Werb Z., Sixt M., Wedlich-Soldner R. (2008). Nature Methods 5(7):605-7.
Inhibition of kinesin motility by ADP and phosphate supports a hand-over-hand mechanism. Schief, W. R., Clark, R. H., Crevenna, A. H., Howard, J. (2004). Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 101 (5): 1183-8.
Basis set effects on B3LYP Geometries and Energies: A Case Study of Interstellar Reaction HN-CH2 + ⋅C≡N → H2-C(⋅)H-C≡N. Basiuk, V. A., Crevenna, A. H., Montiel-Molina, H. M. (2001). International Journal of Quantum Chemistry Vol. 87, 101-109.
Signaling pathway characterization of Taurine release induced by hyposmotic swelling. Morales-Mulia, S., Cardin, V., Torres-Márquez, M. E., Crevenna, A. H., Pasantes-Morales, H. (2001). Neuochem. Inter. 38(2): 153-61.
Born October 29th 1978, Mexico City, Mexico. Grew up in next to the ocean in Veracruz, Ver. Mexico. I studied Basic Biomedical Research and a minor in Physics (1997-2002) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). My Bs. Thesis work was with Jose Luis Mateos, at the Physics Institute (UNAM) on Dynamical Systems modeling kinesin motion along microtubules. After that I decided to explore my roots pursuing a PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden with Joe Howard on Motor Co-operation and Protein Flexibility (2002-2006). The south called and I moved to a Postdoctoral Fellow in Roland Wedlich-Soldner’s lab at the MPI f. Biochemie in Munich (2006- ). Life will decide where to go next.
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