SzSA YearBook 2016/17
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SZENT-GYÖRGYI MENTORS<br />
FERENC NAGY<br />
Institute of Plant Biology,<br />
Biological Research Center of the<br />
Hungarian Academy of Sciences<br />
Address: Temesvári krt. 62., H-6726 Szeged, Hungary<br />
E: nagyf@brc.hu<br />
T: +36 62/599-718<br />
RESEARCH AREA<br />
Synthetic biology is the design and construction of biological<br />
devices for useful purposes; it combines biology and<br />
engineering, and employs a broad variety of methods and<br />
approaches. One of the fastest developing segment of synthetic<br />
biology is optogenetics, which uses genetically encoded<br />
photosensors to transform light energy into specifically<br />
engineered biological processes. Because of their fast on/<br />
off features, optogenetic systems offer superior spatio-temporal<br />
resolution as compared to chemically inducible systems<br />
and have an enormous potential for interrogating<br />
so far not tractable cellular events. Our recent research on<br />
one group of plant photosensors, termed phyto chromes,<br />
established that these chromoproteins function as red/<br />
far-red light regulated molecular switches. Our laboratory<br />
is interested in modifying these light-regulated molecular<br />
switches to endow them with the capability to control gene<br />
expression, at both transcriptional and translational levels,<br />
in mammalian cells. We have shown, in collaboration with<br />
the research group led by Prof. Wilfried Weber at the University<br />
of Freiburg, that a molecular switch consisting of<br />
two plant proteins can regulate angiogenesis of chicken<br />
embryos in a red/far-red light dependent fashion. We are<br />
interested in developing novel light-responsive molecular<br />
switches and use them to regulate various cellular processes<br />
in mammalian cells.<br />
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS<br />
Muller, K., Engesse, R., Metzger, S., Schulz, S., Kampf, M-M.,<br />
Busacker, M., Steinberg, T., Tomakidi, P., Ehrbar, M., Nagy F.,<br />
Zurbriggen, M-D., Weber, W. (2013) A red/far-red light-responsive<br />
bi-stable toggle switch to control gene expressionin<br />
mammalian cell. Nucleic Acids Res 41: e77.<br />
Medzihradszky, M., Bindics, J., Adám, E., Viczián, A., Klement,<br />
E., Lorrain, S., Gyula, P., Mérai, Z., Fankhauser, C., Medzihradszky,<br />
K.F., Kunkel, T., Schäfer, E., Nagy, F. (2013) Phosphorylation<br />
of Phytochrome B Inhibits Light-Induced Signaling<br />
via Accelerated Dark Reversion in Arabidopsis. Plant<br />
Cell 2: 535-544.<br />
Rizzini, L., Favoury, J., Cloix, C., Faggionato, D., O’Hara, A.,<br />
Kaiserli, E., Baumeister, R., Schafer, E., Nagy, F., Jenkins, G.,<br />
Ulm, R. (2011) Perception of UV-B by the Arabidopsis UVR8<br />
protein. Science 332: 103-106.<br />
Kinyo, A., Kiss-Laszlo, Zs., Hambalko, Sz., Bebes, A., Kiss, M.,<br />
Szell, M., Bata-Csorgo, Zs., Nagy, F., Kemeny, L. (2010) COP1<br />
contributes to UVB-induced signaling in human keratinocytes.<br />
Investigat Dermatol 130: 541-545.<br />
Sorokina, O., Kapus, A., Terecskei, K., Dixon, L.E., Kozma-Bognar,<br />
L., Nagy, F., Millar, A.J. (2009) A switchable light-input,<br />
light-output system modelled and constructed in yeast.<br />
Biol Eng 3: 15.<br />
TECHNIQUES AVAILABLE IN THE LAB<br />
State-of-the-art plant and general molecular biology methods,<br />
confocal microscopy, in vivo imaging using the luciferase<br />
reporter, protein expression/purification.<br />
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