Brenda Schulman
Research Department Molecular Machines and Signaling (MoMaS)
Structural Biology, Ubiquitin Proteasome System, Ubiquitin-like Protein
An important form of regulation is the modification of proteins and membranes by linking them to the small protein ubiquitin or structurally related ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs). Ubiquitin and UBLs control timing, subcellular location, composition, conformation and activity of thousands of different proteins and macromolecules. In addition, defects in ubiquitin and UBL pathways are associated with numerous diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and viral infections. Brenda Schulman's Department “Molecular Machines and Signaling” has shown that hundreds of microscopic, dynamic, multiprotein molecular machines are transiently transformed into different conformations by specialized regulatory factors to control ubiquitin and UBLs in order to regulate virtually all aspects of cell biology.
A widespread mechanism regulating the functions of eukaryotic proteins involves post-translational modification by the small protein ubiquitin (UB) or structurally related ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs).
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Department News
Our new preprint shows how tryptophan binding to an exosite on TDO2 regulates a phosphorylation‑dependent ubiquitin–E3 ligase cascade, providing a metabolite‑gated mechanism that links tryptophan levels to TDO2 degradation. Congratulations to all the authors, especially Alina!
This collaborative work with Bartel Lab established a two-RNA-factor authentication mechanism for E3 ligase substrate recognition, diverging from conventional degron-based recognition. Congratulations to all the authors, especially the co-first authors Jakob and Elena!
Great collaboration with Sidhu Lab! We are reporting in
PNAS on a generalizable approach for engineering E2 enzymes to enhance their selectivity and affinity toward particular E3 ubiquitin ligases to probe their activities. Congratulations to all the other authors, especially the first author Jiale!
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At the IMPRS-ML Winter Seminar 2025, Luca’s talk and Hannah’s poster were awarded the best in their categories. Congratulations!
