Sonja-Verena Albers

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Sonja-Verena Albers
Alma mater University of Groningen
University of Würzburg
Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Groningen
University of Freiburg
Thesis Sugar transport in the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus  (2001)

Sonja-Verena Albers is a German microbiologist who is a professor at the University of Freiburg. Her research focuses on the cell biology of the archaea Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and Haloferax volcanii. She was elected Fellow of the American Society for Microbiology in 2023.

Contents

Early life and education

Albers attended high school in Hamburg. [1] She studied biology at the University of Würzburg, during which time she completed an internship at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and became interested in Archaea. [1] In Munich, she met a researcher from the Netherlands who studied Archaea, and their research interested her so much she moved to the University of Groningen. She completed her doctoral research in molecular microbiology at the University of Groningen, where she studied sugar transport in Sulfolobus solfataricus . [1] After graduating she was made a Dutch Research Council postdoctoral researcher.[ citation needed ]

Research and career

In 2006, Albers was awarded a Dutch Research Council VIDI grant to establish her own group at the University of Groningen.[ citation needed ] She moved to the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in 2008, where her research interests moved to understanding the archaea cell envelope. [2] In 2014 she was made a professor of microbiology at the University of Freiburg.[ citation needed ]

Albers has investigated the structure-property relationships of archaea [3] and the molecular mechanisms that underpin the transmission of environmental cues to its motility structure. [4] Archaea, one of the three domains of life, are single-cell life forms without a nucleus. [5] They adapt to extreme living conditions (e.g. hot sulphur springs, salty lakes), are found in a variety of environments around the world. [5] Albers' research uncovered the structure of proteins used by archaea to decide which direction to swim. [5] [6] She has studied fossils of archaea, which provide evidence of at least 3.5 billion years of life on Earth. [7]

Albers used cryogenic electron microscopy to unravel the structure of archaea thread. [8] Her work showed that the subunits of threads are interconnected via donor strand complementation, they have evolved differently from one another. [8]

Awards and honours

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

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A pilus is a hair-like appendage found on the surface of many bacteria and archaea. The terms pilus and fimbria can be used interchangeably, although some researchers reserve the term pilus for the appendage required for bacterial conjugation. All conjugative pili are primarily composed of pilin – fibrous proteins, which are oligomeric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Woese</span> American microbiologist (1928–2012)

Carl Richard Woese was an American microbiologist and biophysicist. Woese is famous for defining the Archaea in 1977 through a pioneering phylogenetic taxonomy of 16S ribosomal RNA, a technique that has revolutionized microbiology. He also originated the RNA world hypothesis in 1967, although not by that name. Woese held the Stanley O. Ikenberry Chair and was professor of microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SECIS element</span> RNA sequence directing the translation of UGA codons as selenocysteines

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DNA primase is an enzyme involved in the replication of DNA and is a type of RNA polymerase. Primase catalyzes the synthesis of a short RNA segment called a primer complementary to a ssDNA template. After this elongation, the RNA piece is removed by a 5' to 3' exonuclease and refilled with DNA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermoacidophile</span> Microorganisms which live in water with high temperature and high acidity

A thermoacidophile is an extremophilic microorganism that is both thermophilic and acidophilic; i.e., it can grow under conditions of high temperature and low pH. The large majority of thermoacidophiles are archaea or bacteria, though occasional eukaryotic examples have been reported. Thermoacidophiles can be found in hot springs and solfataric environments, within deep sea vents, or in other environments of geothermal activity. They also occur in polluted environments, such as in acid mine drainage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudopeptidoglycan</span>

Pseudopeptidoglycan is a major cell wall component of some Archaea that differs from bacterial peptidoglycan in chemical structure, but resembles bacterial peptidoglycan in function and physical structure. Pseudopeptidoglycan, in general, is only present in a few methanogenic archaea. The basic components are N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetyltalosaminuronic acid, which are linked by β-1,3-glycosidic bonds.

Microbial genetics is a subject area within microbiology and genetic engineering. Microbial genetics studies microorganisms for different purposes. The microorganisms that are observed are bacteria, and archaea. Some fungi and protozoa are also subjects used to study in this field. The studies of microorganisms involve studies of genotype and expression system. Genotypes are the inherited compositions of an organism. Genetic Engineering is a field of work and study within microbial genetics. The usage of recombinant DNA technology is a process of this work. The process involves creating recombinant DNA molecules through manipulating a DNA sequence. That DNA created is then in contact with a host organism. Cloning is also an example of genetic engineering.

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Sulfolobaceae are a family of the Sulfolobales belonging to the domain Archaea. The family consists of several genera adapted to survive environmental niches with extreme temperature and low pH conditions.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaea</span> Domain of single-celled organisms

Archaea is a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria, but this term has fallen out of use.

The archaellum is a unique structure on the cell surface of many archaea that allows for swimming motility. The archaellum consists of a rigid helical filament that is attached to the cell membrane by a molecular motor. This molecular motor – composed of cytosolic, membrane, and pseudo-periplasmic proteins – is responsible for the assembly of the filament and, once assembled, for its rotation. The rotation of the filament propels archaeal cells in liquid medium, in a manner similar to the propeller of a boat. The bacterial analog of the archaellum is the flagellum, which is also responsible for their swimming motility and can also be compared to a rotating corkscrew. Although the movement of archaella and flagella is sometimes described as "whip-like", this is incorrect, as only cilia from Eukaryotes move in this manner. Indeed, even "flagellum" is a misnomer, as bacterial flagella also work as propeller-like structures.

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David Prangishvili is a virologist, Professor at the Pasteur Institute of Paris, and foremost authority on viruses infecting Archaea.

Saccharolobus solfataricus is a species of thermophilic archaeon. It was transferred from the genus Sulfolobus to the new genus Saccharolobus with the description of Saccharolobus caldissimus in 2018.

Saccharolobus shibatae is an archaeal species belongs to the phylum Thermoproteota. Saccharolobus shibatae was described for the first time as Sulfolobus shibatae in 1990, after being isolated from geothermal pools in Beppu, Japan. It was transferred from the genus Sulfolobus to the new genus Saccharolobus with the description of Saccharolobus caldissimus in 2018.

Christa Schleper is a German microbiologist known for her work on the evolution and ecology of Archaea. Schleper is Head of the Department of Functional and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Vienna in Austria.

Archaeal Hami, one of the three domains of life, is a highly diverse group of prokaryotes that include a number of extremophiles. One of these extremophiles has given rise to a highly complex new appendage known as the hamus. In contrast to the well-studied prokaryotic appendages pili and fimbriae, much is yet to be discovered about archaeal appendages such as hami. Appendages serve multiple functions for cells and are often involved in attachment, horizontal conjugation, and movement. The unique appendage was discovered at the same time as the unique community of archaea that produces them. Research into the structure of hami suggests their main function aids in attachment and biofilm formation. This is accomplished due to their evenly placed prickles, helical structure, and barbed end. These appendages are heat and acid resistant, aiding in the cell's ability to live in extreme environments.

Cannula is the term to describe hollow structures which resemble tubes that are only found in certain archaea cells. Specifically identifying family members of the Pyrodictium genus, many examples have been examined from hydrothermal marine locations which harbor temperatures of 80-110 degrees Celsius. When observed in close proximity, cannula appear hollow.Unfortunately the cannula are not well understood or studied.

Tanmay A. M. Bharat is a research group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. He and his group use physical structure and cell biology methods to study the surface of bacteria and the biofilms that they form. This is increasing understanding of how bacteria can resist antibiotics and act as pathogens. He has been awarded several prizes and fellowships for his work.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Zeitung, Badische (2020-02-17). ""Enormes Interesse und Geduld"". Badische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  2. ↑ "Snapshot: Dr. Sonja-Verena Albers". Nature Portfolio Microbiology Community. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  3. ↑ van Wolferen, Marleen; Albers, Sonja-Verena (2022). "Progress and Challenges in Archaeal Cell Biology". Archaea. Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol. 2522. pp. 365–371. doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-2445-6_24. ISBN   978-1-0716-2444-9. ISSN   1940-6029. PMID   36125763.
  4. ↑ Albers, Sonja-Verena; Koning, Sonja M.; Konings, Wil N.; Driessen, Arnold J. M. (2004-02-01). "Insights into ABC Transport in Archaea". Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes. 36 (1): 5–15. doi:10.1023/B:JOBB.0000019593.84933.e6. ISSN   1573-6881. PMID   15168605. S2CID   22153516.
  5. 1 2 3 Freiburg, Albert Ludwigs University of. "How single-cell archaea determine what direction to swim". phys.org. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  6. ↑ Quax, Tessa E. F.; Altegoer, Florian; Rossi, Fernando; Li, Zhengqun; Rodriguez-Franco, Marta; Kraus, Florian; Bange, Gert; Albers, Sonja-Verena (2018-02-06). "Structure and function of the archaeal response regulator CheY". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (6): E1259–E1268. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115E1259Q. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1716661115 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   5819425 . PMID   29358409.
  7. ↑ "Une vie motile dès 3.4 milliards d'années ?". www.insu.cnrs.fr (in French). 6 April 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  8. 1 2 Gaines, Matthew C.; Isupov, Michail N.; Sivabalasarma, Shamphavi; Haque, Risat Ul; McLaren, Mathew; Mollat, Clara L.; Tripp, Patrick; Neuhaus, Alexander; Gold, Vicki A. M.; Albers, Sonja-Verena; Daum, Bertram (2022-12-01). "Electron cryo-microscopy reveals the structure of the archaeal thread filament". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 7411. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.7411G. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-34652-4. ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   9715654 . PMID   36456543.
  9. ↑ "Find people in the EMBO Communities". people.embo.org. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  10. ↑ "SPP 1879 PI Sonja-Verena Albers has been elected as EMBO member | Nucleotide Second Messenger Signaling in Bacteria". www.spp1879.de. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  11. ↑ "65 Fellows Elected into the American Academy of Microbiology". ASM.org. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
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