Expertise
The Jahnel group has a strong background in single-molecule experiments, instrument development, and soft matter physics, developing and employing advanced biophysical methods to probe the dynamics and assemblies of biomolecules. Key research topics have included GTP-driven molecular motors1,2 and the material properties of biomolecular condensates. In recent years, the group pioneered the use of optical tweezers for the analysis and manipulation of biomolecular condensates3-9. In collaboration with the Alberti and Brugués groups, the bridging of broken DNA fragments by capillary forces of repair condensates has been discovered, which serves as a functional mechanism during DNA damage repair10.
References:
- Murray, Jahnel et al. An endosomal tether undergoes an entropic collapse to bring vesicles together. Nature. 2016;537(7618):107-111. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19326
- Singh, Jahnel et al. Two-component molecular motor driven by a GTPase cycle. Nat Phys. Published online May 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02009-3
- Patel, Jahnel et al. A Liquid-to-Solid Phase Transition of the ALS Protein FUS Accelerated by Disease Mutation. Cell. 2015;162(5):1066-1077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.07.047
- Hernández-Vega A, Jahnel et al. Local Nucleation of Microtubule Bundles through Tubulin Concentration into a Condensed Tau Phase. Cell Rep. 2017;20(10):2304-2312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.08.042
- Wan, Jahnel et al. A Molecular Grammar Governing the Driving Forces for Phase Separation of Prion-like RNA Binding Proteins. Cell. 2018;174(3):688-699.e16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.006
- Jawerth, Jahnel et al. Salt-Dependent Rheology and Surface Tension of Protein Condensates Using Optical Traps. Phys Rev Lett. 2018;121(25):258101. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.258101
- Iserman, Jahnel et al. Condensation of Ded1p Promotes a Translational Switch from Housekeeping to Stress Protein Production. Cell. 2020;181(4):818-831.e19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.009
- Franzmann, Jahnel et al. Phase separation of a yeast prion protein promotes cellular fitness. Science. 2018;359(6371):eaao5654. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao5654
- Guillén-Boixet, Jahnel et al. RNA-Induced Conformational Switching and Clustering of G3BP Drive Stress Granule Assembly by Condensation. Cell. 2020;181(2):346-361.e17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.049
- Chappidi, Jahnel et al. PARP1-DNA co-condensation drives DNA repair site assembly to prevent disjunction of broken DNA ends. Cell. 2024;187(4):945-961.e18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.015