Students' seminar

The MPGC students`seminar is mandatory for MPGC students.

During the seminar students present in a common way the latest results of their interdisciplinary research and talk to each other. These presentations offer excellent opportunities for feedback on scientific results and presentation techniques and for informal discussions and networking.
Winter 2024/2025
Regular MPGC students' seminars in the winter term 2024/2025 will take place Wednesday at 4pm as hybrid seminar

Persulfides in Protein Protection: Uncovering a new Co-Translational Modification

Date: Nov 5, 2025
Speaker: Sernur Sena Yildiz

Persulfides (R–SSH) are emerging as important natural protectors against oxidative damage, acting both as strong antioxidants and as regulators of protein behavior. Through a process called persulfidation, an extra sulfur atom is added to specific cysteine residues in proteins, shielding them from harmful oxidation and subtly tuning their activity, stability, and interactions. Traditionally, persulfidation was thought to occur only after proteins are made, as a post-translational modification. However, new findings suggest it can also happen co-translationally—while the protein is still being synthesized. This early addition of sulfur may influence how proteins fold, form disulfide bonds, and maintain their structure under stress. Understanding this newly discovered mechanism could reshape how we view protein folding, redox biology, and the broader role of sulfur chemistry in maintaining cellular health. [more]

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Date: Nov 5, 2025
Speaker: Philipp Mayer

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Date: Nov 12, 2025
Speaker: Mohit Kumar

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Molecular Insights into IM30 Folding-Unfolding Transition and Condensate Formation

Date: Nov 12, 2025
Speaker: Tika Ram Bhandari

IM30 is a cyanobacterial ESCRT-III protein essential for membrane stabilization, repair, and remodeling. Like other ESCRT-III members, it forms large oligomers with a conserved structural core flanked by flexible regions that support dynamic function. In addition to oligomerization, IM30 exhibits salt-dependent phase separation, a hallmark of polyampholytes. Here, we combine molecular dynamics simulations with experiments to investigate the molecular principles underlying IM30’s helical dynamics and phase behavior using coarse-grained models. Simulations across different salt concentrations and temperatures enabled the construction of 2D and 3D phase diagrams outlining the conditions for condensate formation, while contact analysis reveals that the N-terminal and coiled-coil regions drive condensate formation, whereas the C-terminal region alone is insufficient. Together, these findings provide a mechanistic framework linking IM30’s structural flexibility, oligomerization, and phase separation to its role in membrane stabilization and repair. [more]