Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

A unique two-component molecular motor uses a kind of renewable chemical energy to pull vesicles toward membrane-bound organelles

Researchers develop new method to help interpret mutations in disease genes and improve clinical decision-making

Researchers from Dresden investigated how four Drosophila genes, known to control eye color, are essential for health of retinal tissue

This result puts Max Planck in second place in a Europe-wide comparison

Researchers have identified a gene that helps the pancreas to respond to glucose by insulin secretion

For decades, few people were interested in the puncta that biologists observed when they examined cells under the microscope. Cliff Brangwynne and Anthony Hyman from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden were among the first researchers to study these mysterious phenomena in more detail.

Artists and architects of all eras have been inspired by symmetry in nature. This is hardly surprising, as symmetry is considered the epitome of beauty – and mirror symmetry is the absolute gold standard. Jochen Rink from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden is seeking to discover how organisms define the mirror plane and thereby fulfill the basic prerequisite for a symmetrical body structure. To do this he studies flatworms and their astonishing ability to regenerate missing body parts.

Many biomolecules move through cells like microscopic machines. Often, however, it isn’t known what forces these molecules generate or how fast the molecules act or move. That’s why Stephan Grill from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden decided to specialize in measuring molecular forces. He uses optical tweezers to pull gently on DNA strands. His method is shedding light on the proteins that read genetic information.

Eugene W. Myers never attended a biology lecture. Nevertheless, he made a career for himself in this field, and by developing a computer program, made a major contribution to decoding the human genome. The bioinformatician has recently become a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and at the Center for Systems Biology in Dresden.

Our research group at MPI-CBG focuses on tissue regeneration. Together with colleagues from Cambridge, our team has found that a regulatory cell type - mesenchymal cells - can activate or stop liver regeneration. This is achieved by the number of contacts these establish with the regenerating cells (epithelial cells). Our findings suggest that mistakes in the regeneration process, which can give rise to diseases, are caused by the wrong number of contacts between both cell populations. 

Our Lab is focused on mimicking cellular processes with synthetic systems. In collaboration with the MPI of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI) we have developed a minimal synthetic cell, a simpler system compared to biological cells. This tunable synthetic system presents new exciting possibilities in addressing fundamental questions in biology.

Which differences in the genome underlie differences in the characteristics of species is a central question in genetics and evolutionary biology. Our group develops computational methods to accurately detect functional differences in genomes. As our studies have  shown, gene loss is an important evolutionary mechanism. This research contributes to an understanding of how nature’s diversity evolved.

In order to perform diverse functions, the cell`s proteins and RNAs are located in membraneous compartiments, but also as distinct condensates. Unexpectedly, recent advances show that the mechanisms by which condensates assemble may hold the key to explaining some of the biggest open questions in biology, paving the way for a revolution in our understanding of cellular physics. We have now uncovered a protein sequence encoded molecular grammar that underlies phase separation of some types of proteins inside cells.

Researchers of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden developed a predictive 3D multi-scale model based on quantitative image analysis that stimulate the fluid dynamic properties of bile in the liver. This model can help to functionally characterize liver diseases, specific treatment options as well as drug-induced liver injury. Therefore, it is a promising tool for drug development to test and predict the effects of pharmacological compounds on the liver. The research team is now working on a strategy to calibrate this model to human biliary fluid dynamics.