Group: Schaefer, Matthias

Research Focus

The base of the canonical nucleoside cytosine (C) can be subjected to a range of chemical modifications resulting in various nucleosides that are biologically meaningful. These "cytosine-derivatives" can also be viewed as a molecular toolbox, but the circumstances, timing and conditions justifying its use remain unclear.

A well known modification is the attachment of a methyl group to the 5' position of cytosine resulting in 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C). While (cytosine-5) DNA methylation systems have been reasonably well understood, the biological significance of (cytosine-5) RNA methylation remains unclear.

Recent findings indicated that specific RNA modifications are not only placed onto RNA ("writers") but can also be interpreted ("readers"), and even be removed from RNA by "eraser" proteins. These observations have defined a new and exciting concept: Epitranscriptomics.

Main Objectives

Our group aims to understand the biology of the enzymes that attach methyl groups (forming m⁵C) to RNA (RNA Mtases) and the impact of m⁵C on the biological function of methylated RNAs. Our long-term goal is to characterise how specific RNA modifications contribute to the regulation of gene expression and, importantly, how much they influence gene expression re-programming under environmental impact such as stress conditions.

Content of Research

Our group applies genetic and biochemical tools in human cell culture and the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to systematically study (cytosine-5) RNA methylation systems (the substrates and interactions of m⁵C writers, readers and potential erasers).

Specifically, we aim to understand how (cytosine-5) RNA methylation:

• Impacts on RNA stability and function
• Controls stress-induced RNA processing
• Affects the interaction with RNA-binding proteins
• Contributes to the regulation of gene expression