Mechanisms of chromatin patterning

Presentation

Inspired by the functional diversity among the genetically identical cells of an organism, our goal is to understand how cells can interpret their genome in a particular way to establish their cellular identity. To this end, we study the mechanisms that cells use to form and maintain cell type-specific chromatin patterns along their genome. As these patterns span multiple scales from a few modified histones to micron-sized subcompartments, we investigate them using complementary techniques from single-molecule biophysics to live-cell imaging and computational biology.

Projets

Genome-wide chromatin patterns

Epigenetic circuits in living cells

Single-molecule chromatin biophysics

Publications

• Muzzopappa F, Hummert J, Anfossi M, Tashev SA, Herten DP, Erdel F.
  Detecting and quantifying liquid-liquid phase separation in living cells by model-free calibrated half-bleaching
  Nature Communications 13: 7787
  2022 Dec
• Muzzopappa F, Hertzog M, Erdel F..
  DNA length tunes the fluidity of DNA-based condensates.
  Biophys J 120: 1-13
  2021 Feb
• Erdel F.
  Biophysical mechanisms of chromatin patterning
  Curr Opin Genet Dev 61:62-68
  2020 May
• Erdel F, Rademacher A, Vlijm R, Tünnermann J, Frank L, Weinmann R, Schweigert E, Yserentant K, Hummert J, Bauer C, Schumacher S, Al Alwash A, Normand C, Herten DP, Engelhardt J, Rippe K.
  Mouse heterochromatin adopts digital compaction states without showing hallmarks of HP1-driven liquid-liquid phase separation
  Mol Cell 78:236–249
  2020 Apr
• Erdel F, Rippe K.
  Formation of chromatin subcompartments by phase separation
  Biophys J 114(10):2262-70
  2018 May

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Funding

       

Alumni

Master students:

2019 - Elisabeth Schweigert (ERASMUS, Germany)

2020 - Antoine Solnais (M2 Genes, Cells & Development)

2021 - Andressa Arabe Alves (M1 Biotechnology)

2021 - Michela Anfossi (ERASMUS, Italy)