Dr Frank Bürmann

Dr Frank Bürmann

Bacterial genome remodelling machines

Genetic information is stored in spectacularly large and thread-like molecules, the chromosomal DNA. This poses the fundamental “spaghetti problem”: DNA entanglements must be prevented by creating structured entities called nucleoids or chromosomes. Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complexes and DNA topoisomerases solve this issue in most if not all organisms.
We are interested in:

1. How ring-like SMC complexes use the power of ATP hydrolysis to extrude large DNA loops
2. How SMC complexes cooperate with DNA topoisomerases to prevent DNA entanglements
3. How pathogens such as bacteriophages and infective plasmids manipulate host chromosomes, and interact with host defences that use the mechanisms above

We address these questions using biochemical reconstitution, cryo-EM, and advanced bacterial genetics. We capture bacterial and viral chromosome remodelling machines in action, aiming to directly visualize how they work. Our long-term goal is a full mechanistic understanding of the processes that control the three-dimensional structure of chromosomes across the tree of life.

To find out more, please visit http://www.burmann-lab.net/