Hayer-Hartl

Researchers for protein folding helpers at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry have now deciphered the molecular structure of the EL phage chaperonin and discovered special features. more

Photosynthesis is a fundamental biological process which allows plants to use light energy for their growth. Most life forms on Earth are directly or indirectly dependent on photosynthesis. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany have collaborated with colleagues from the Australian National University to study the formation of carboxysomes – a structure that increases the efficiency of photosynthesis in aquatic bacteria. Their results, which were now published in Nature, could lead to the engineering of plants with more efficient photosynthesis and thus higher crop yields. more

Manajit Hayer-Hartl, head of the research group "Chaperonin-assisted Protein Folding” at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried receives the Charles F. Kettering Award 2018 from the American Society of Plant Biologists. The award honors excellent research in the field of photosynthesis. Hayer-Hartl’s work brings insights into chloroplast protein-chaperone biology and helping to advance many aspects of the field of photosynthesis. This includes the solution to several long-standing challenges associated with the biogenesis of the photosynthetic enzyme Rubisco. Her work has dramatically advanced and reinvigorated interest in studying Rubisco, due to her pioneering achievements in understanding the biogenesis and maintenance of Rubisco. These accomplishments have led to the successful assembly of plant Rubisco in E. coli, an achievement that had eluded scientists for nearly 50 years. The award ceremony will take place at the annual meeting of the Society in Montreal, Canada. more

Photosynthesis is the process underlying all plant growth. Scientists aim to boost photosynthesis to meet the increasing global demand for food by engineering its key enzyme Rubisco. Now, researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry have succeeded in producing functional plant Rubisco in a bacterium. This allows genetic engineering of the enzyme. The study could one day lead to better crop yields and plant varieties with increased water-use efficiencies or enhanced temperature resistance. The results were published in Science. more

Manajit Hayer-Hartl, head of the research group "Chaperonin-assisted Protein Folding” at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried receives the Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Award 2017 of the Protein Society. The Award, sponsored by Genentech, is granted in recognition of exceptional contributions to protein science which profoundly influence our understanding of biology. For the past two decades Hayer-Hartl has investigated the mechanism of GroEL and its co-factor GroES. This work led to the insight that the chaperonin, in addition to preventing aggregation, profoundly influences the free-energy landscapes of folding for some proteins by accelerating folding through entropic destabilization of unfolded states in the confining environment of the folding cage, a mechanism that can be considered specific to chaperonin. By studying the biogenesis of the photosynthetic enzyme Rubisco Dr. Hayer-Hartl also discovered new mechanisms of chaperone-assisted protein assembly. The award will be conferred at the 31^st Annual Symposium of the Protein Society in July 24 - 27, 2017 in Montreal, Canada. more