Daumke Lab

Daumke Lab

Structural Biology of Membrane-Associated Processes

GTPases of the dynamin and septin superfamilies are molecular machines that assemble at the surface of cellular membranes.
Illustration

Artistic view on the pinching of clathrin-coated vesicles by the mechano-chemical GTPase dynamin. Structural work in our group has clarified the oligomerization mode of dynamin on membranes and led to a GTPase-driven ratcheting model leading to membrane constriction.

© Yvette Roske, Katja Fälber

The shape of cellular membrane is intimately linked to cellular function. We explore structure, function and mechanism of molecular machines that remodel cellular membranes to facilitate membrane trafficking and the maintenance of cellular organelles. To this end, we apply a combination of structural biological, biochemical and cell biological methods.

Dysfunction of such molecular machines, for example by mutations, is often associated with human disease, such as muscular dystrophy or neurodegenerative disorders. Our research contributes to a molecular understanding of the disease phenotypes and may contribute to the development of new therapeutic approaches.

See ‘Research’ for specific project descriptions.

Team

Group Leader

Prof. Dr. Oliver Daumke
Prof. Dr. Oliver Daumke
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0225
+49 30 9406-3425

Scientist

Dr. Tobias Bock-Bierbaum
Dr. Tobias Bock-Bierbaum
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0228
+49 30 9406-3275
Dr. Katja Fälber
Dr. Katja Fälber
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0227
+49 30 9406-3830
Dr. Jana Kroll
Dr. Jana Kroll
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 1216.5
Dr. Ashwin Karthick Natarajan
Dr. Ashwin Karthick Natarajan
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 1216.5
+49 30 9406-3689
Dr. Yvette Roske
Dr. Yvette Roske
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0223
+49 30 9406-2949
Dr. Julia Smirnova
Dr. Julia Smirnova
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0227
+49 30 94063426
Elena Vazquez Sarandeses
Elena Vazquez Sarandeses
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0223

Secretariat

Jeannine Engel
+49 30 9406-2337

Technical Assistants

Carola Bernert
Carola Bernert
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0269
+49 30 9406-2862
Jeanette Schlegel
Jeanette Schlegel
31.2: Max-Delbrück-Haus
Room: 0265
+49 30 9406-3280

PhD student

Graduate and Undergraduate

Publications

/ bioRxiv

Structures of EHD2 filaments on curved membranes provide a model for caveolar neck stabilization

  • E. Vázquez-Sarandeses
  • V. Mikirtumov
  • J.K. Noel
  • M. Kudryashev
  • O. Daumke
/ Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol

Molecular machineries shaping the mitochondrial inner membrane

  • O. Daumke
  • M. van der Laan
/ J Pept Sci

Penta-ALFA-tagged substrates for self-labelling tags allow signal enhancement in microscopy

  • S. Ghosh
  • R. Birke
  • A.K. Natarajan
  • J. Broichhagen
/ bioRxiv

Dynamic nanoscale architecture of synaptic vesicle fusion in mouse hippocampal neurons

  • J. Kroll
  • U. Kravčenko
  • M. Sadeghi
  • C.A. Diebolder
  • L. Ivanov
  • M. Lubas
  • T. Sprink
  • M. Schacherl
  • M. Kudryashev
  • C. Rosenmund
/ Nature Commun

Gene-editing in patient and humanized-mice primary muscle stem cells rescues dysferlin expression in dysferlin-deficient muscular dystrophy

  • H. Escobar
  • S. Di Francescantonio
  • J. Smirnova
  • R. Graf
  • S. Müthel
  • A. Marg
  • A. Zhogov
  • S. Krishna
  • E. Metzler
  • M. Petkova
  • O. Daumke
  • R. Kühn
  • S. Spuler
/ Front Immunol

Generation of effective and specific human TCRs against tumor/testis antigen NY-ESO-1 in mice with humanized T cell recognition system

  • X.T. Chen
  • M. Leisegang
  • I. Gavvovidis
  • S.M. Pollack
  • F.K.M. Lorenz
  • T.N. Schumacher
  • O. Daumke
  • T. Blankenstein
/ Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Molecular architecture of synaptic vesicles

  • U. Kravčenko
  • M. Ruwolt
  • J. Kroll
  • A. Yushkevich
  • M. Zenkner
  • J. Ruta
  • R. Lotfy
  • E.E. Wanker
  • C. Rosenmund
  • F. Liu
  • M. Kudryashev
/ bioRxiv

Sociality shapes mitochondrial adaptations supporting hypoxia tolerance

  • A. Rossi
  • M. Ruwolt
  • P. Kakouri
  • T. Kosten
  • S. Kunz
  • D. Puchkov
  • J. Reznick
  • B. Purfürst
  • D. Omerbašić
  • D. Méndez Aranda
  • G. Carai
  • G. Mastrobuoni
  • D.W. Hart
  • M. Carraro
  • L. Tommasin
  • N.C. Bennett
  • V. Bégay
  • K. Faelber
  • O. Daumke
  • P. Bernardi
  • T.J. Park
  • S. Kempa
  • F. Liu
  • G.R. Lewin
/ J Mol Med

Structure-based humanization of a therapeutic antibody for multiple myeloma

  • S.F. Marino
  • O. Daumke
/ Structure

Structural characterization of Thogoto Virus nucleoprotein provides insights into viral RNA encapsidation and RNP assembly

  • A. Dick
  • V. Mikirtumov
  • J. Fuchs
  • F. Krupp
  • D. Olal
  • E. Bendl
  • T. Sprink
  • C. Diebolder
  • M. Kudryashev
  • G. Kochs
  • Y. Roske
  • O. Daumke

News

Oliver Daumke
Science

The cellular engineer

Molecular machines carry out many vital processes inside our cells. When their components – protein building blocks – are faulty, it can lead to disease. Structural biologist Oliver Daumke investigates how these machines are built, what makes them work, and what goes wrong when they malfunction.
Scientific image
Science

Two first-place awards in scientific image contest

Helmholtz Imaging once again selected many outstanding scientific images during its annual contest: The Max Delbrück Center came out on top twice in the Best Scientific Image Contest, with Jana Kroll winning the Jury Award and Rafael Deliz Aguirre taking the Public Choice Award.
scientific image
Press Release No. 3 Berlin

How a protein fights off bacteria

The details of many immune defense mechanisms are still unknown, but a new study sheds light on one such mechanism. Writing in “The EMBO Journal”, researchers led by Oliver Daumke and Misha Kudryashev of the Max Delbrück Center describe exactly how GBP1 proteins render bacteria harmless by encapsulating them.
Daumke Lab
Press Release No. 53 Berlin

Taking out the cellular trash

If waste DNA or RNA remains in cells, it can lead to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and autoimmune conditions. Writing in Nucleic Acids Research, scientists led by Oliver Daumke of the Max Delbrück Center describe the role one enzyme plays in removing this waste.
Scientific image
Press Release No. 46 Berlin

Hodgkin’s lymphoma: Small change, big effect

Swapping just a single amino acid can play a decisive role in transforming healthy B cells into cancer cells. An international team led by ECRC researcher Stephan Mathas describes in “Nature Communications” how a point mutation in the transcription factor IRF4 profoundly alters gene regulation.
Scientific illustration
Science

Membrane couture made of elastic protein bands

For nearly two decades, Oliver Daumke has been working to solve the mystery of how a molecular machine remodels cellular membranes. His team has now found the answer with the help of cryo-electron tomography. They report their findings in the journal “Nature Communications”.
Mitochondrium
Science

How mitochondria stay in shape

Defective mitochondrial can lead to neurodegenerative and muscular diseases. But how does the “powerhouse” of the cell normally maintain its characteristic shape? In Science Advances, new molecular insights have now been provided by an MDC team led by Oliver Daumke.
Dynamin
Science

📺 A molecular motor for membrane constriction

The protein dynamin is a molecular machine that helps cells to take up nutrients and other substances. A team led by MDC researcher Oliver Daumke has now detailed how this minuscule motor works in the journal “PNAS”.
Das Team der Kryo-EM: Christoph Diebolder, Thiemo Sprink und Metaxia Stavroulaki
Institute & Campus

A small home for a big microscope

The new cryo-electron microscope on the Buch campus is four meters tall and captures images of tiny, nanometer-scale structures. The MDC has constructed a special building to house this feat of technology, which is now available to Berlin’s structural biology community. Dr. Christoph Diebolder of Charité heads the facility.
Kristall
Science

Getting to the heart of an enzyme

A team led by Oliver Daumke at the MDC has determined the three-dimensional structure of the NatC acetyltransferase in an article published in Nature Communications. This enzyme modifies cell proteins to enable them to perform their functions correctly. In cancer cells, however, NatC is often overactive.

Teaching material

You find diverse teaching material (in German) from us and other groups of the Collaborative Research Grant 958 here:

Research Topics