SzSA YearBook 2016/17

SZENT-GYÖRGYI MENTORS
FERENC NAGY
Institute of Plant Biology,
Biological Research Center of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Address: Temesvári krt. 62., H-6726 Szeged, Hungary
E: nagyf@brc.hu
T: +36 62/599-718
RESEARCH AREA
Synthetic biology is the design and construction of biological
devices for useful purposes; it combines biology and
engineering, and employs a broad variety of methods and
approaches. One of the fastest developing segment of synthetic
biology is optogenetics, which uses genetically encoded
photosensors to transform light energy into specifically
engineered biological processes. Because of their fast on/
off features, optogenetic systems offer superior spatio-temporal
resolution as compared to chemically inducible systems
and have an enormous potential for interrogating
so far not tractable cellular events. Our recent research on
one group of plant photosensors, termed phyto chromes,
established that these chromoproteins function as red/
far-red light regulated molecular switches. Our laboratory
is interested in modifying these light-regulated molecular
switches to endow them with the capability to control gene
expression, at both transcriptional and translational levels,
in mammalian cells. We have shown, in collaboration with
the research group led by Prof. Wilfried Weber at the University
of Freiburg, that a molecular switch consisting of
two plant proteins can regulate angiogenesis of chicken
embryos in a red/far-red light dependent fashion. We are
interested in developing novel light-responsive molecular
switches and use them to regulate various cellular processes
in mammalian cells.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Muller, K., Engesse, R., Metzger, S., Schulz, S., Kampf, M-M.,
Busacker, M., Steinberg, T., Tomakidi, P., Ehrbar, M., Nagy F.,
Zurbriggen, M-D., Weber, W. (2013) A red/far-red light-responsive
bi-stable toggle switch to control gene expressionin
mammalian cell. Nucleic Acids Res 41: e77.
Medzihradszky, M., Bindics, J., Adám, E., Viczián, A., Klement,
E., Lorrain, S., Gyula, P., Mérai, Z., Fankhauser, C., Medzihradszky,
K.F., Kunkel, T., Schäfer, E., Nagy, F. (2013) Phosphorylation
of Phytochrome B Inhibits Light-Induced Signaling
via Accelerated Dark Reversion in Arabidopsis. Plant
Cell 2: 535-544.
Rizzini, L., Favoury, J., Cloix, C., Faggionato, D., O’Hara, A.,
Kaiserli, E., Baumeister, R., Schafer, E., Nagy, F., Jenkins, G.,
Ulm, R. (2011) Perception of UV-B by the Arabidopsis UVR8
protein. Science 332: 103-106.
Kinyo, A., Kiss-Laszlo, Zs., Hambalko, Sz., Bebes, A., Kiss, M.,
Szell, M., Bata-Csorgo, Zs., Nagy, F., Kemeny, L. (2010) COP1
contributes to UVB-induced signaling in human keratinocytes.
Investigat Dermatol 130: 541-545.
Sorokina, O., Kapus, A., Terecskei, K., Dixon, L.E., Kozma-Bognar,
L., Nagy, F., Millar, A.J. (2009) A switchable light-input,
light-output system modelled and constructed in yeast.
Biol Eng 3: 15.
TECHNIQUES AVAILABLE IN THE LAB
State-of-the-art plant and general molecular biology methods,
confocal microscopy, in vivo imaging using the luciferase
reporter, protein expression/purification.
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