Identification and characterization of components of DNA repair pathways and their role in Agrobacterium T-DNA integration and repair of CRISPR/Cas induced DSBs.

What is the most effective way to eliminate tumour cells? The DNA repair mechanism could play an important role in increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy in the fight against cancerous cells. If we are to influence this mechanism, we need fundamental knowledge about how the mechanism works.

Promotor: P. J. J. Hooykaas Co-promotor: B. S de Pater

Conference

Promotores: J.N. Kok, H.J. Hoogeboom

Inactivating mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes predispose to several types of cancer.

Promotor: D. Bouwmeester, Co-promotor: D. Kraft

The skin is our natural barrier and lipids are a key part of this barrier. In the outer skin layer, the stratum corneum (SC), lipids form a densely organized structure dependent on the composition of these lipids.

PhD Defence

Lecture

A collaboration between the IBL and LUMC has resulted in the discovery that the polymerase theta enzyme is essential for the integration of Agrobacterium T-DNA into the genome of plants. The finding means a break-through for the development of more efficient systems for targeted genome modification…

The type-IV secretion system (T4SS) is a machinery able to transfer DNA and proteins between bacteria and in certain cases also to eukaryotic cells.

Our DNA molecules are packaged by proteins in compact structures. The aim of this project is to understand how modern gene editing techniques nevertheless get access to their target in the DNA.

Promotor: R.D. Gill, F. Taroni

How is Pol θ responsible for T-DNA integration, and how do other DNA double-strand break repair pathways interact with Pol θ? How may we manipulate T-DNA integration to stimulate error-free integration at a predetermined genomic site?

The stratum corneum is the outermost skin layer and consists of dead cells embedded in a lipid matrix.

In the studies described in this study, we introduce a novel ex vivo human skin barrier repair model. To develop this, we removed the upper layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC) by a reproducible cyanoacrylate stripping technique.

Increasing the efficiency of gene targeting (GT) as a genome editing tool in plants has been an important goal in plant biotechnology.

The genetic information of all living organisms is contained in their DNA. Cells modify the degree of DNA compaction by epigenetics, which largely determines what genes are read out and which genes are transcriptionally silent.

How does the extracellular matrix coordinate endothelial cell behavior during angiogenesis, and how do metabolic waste-products and matrix-degrading enzymes produced by the tumour modify the extracellular matrix so as the change the cellular coordination?

Inaugural Lecture

PhD Defence

All life on earth contains DNA, which is used to store biological information. Organisms compact their DNA in order for it to fit inside their cell(s).

Bacteria often experience external challenges, such as changes in environmental conditions or attacks by bacteriophages.

Atopic eczema is a skin disease with increasing incidence currently affecting 25% of the paediatric population. In atopic eczema the skin barrier function is reduced. This barrier is formed by the outermost layer of the skin called the stratum corneum (SC). The SC consists of terminally differentiated…

Searching for ways to delay the need for a transplant and trying to build kidneys to order.

Leiden physicist Maarten Kruithof has discovered how our DNA is infallibly able to fold itself and to unfold again. In his dissertation he demonstrates how DNA is folded in a single long, very flexible spiral.

What role do parent-child interactions play in the development, maintenance and treatment of depression in young people?

Single-celled organisms have stiffer DNA than multicellular lifeforms like humans and rice. Theoretical physicists managed to simulate the folding in full genomes for the first time to reach this conclusion. Publication in Biophysical Journal on February 7.

This project aims to assess the risk of spread of antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment derived from currently used synthetic biology approaches in the field of drug discovery.

Do large deletions represent a risk during CRISP/CAS9-mediated genome editing in plants?

Theoretical physicist Helmut Schiessel receives an NWO Projectruimte grant of 390,000 euro. He will use this budget to hire a postdoc and a PhD student to continue his research on flexibility of double stranded DNA.

In an Advance Online Publication biophysicist John van Noort and others show using magnetic tweezers that DNA is folded in compliant helices of chromatin. This allows enzymes access to the DNA needed for gene expression. Van Noort's research group made the discovery in close partnership with researchers…

Schneider

Some people are predisposed to develop cancer. Mutations in genetic material that increase a person’s chances of developing cancer can already be present at birth. Researchers are closely examining these mutations to learn more about how cancer begins to develop.

The four possible segments A, T, C and G that link together to form DNA molecules, and with their ordering encode genetic information, are not only different in name, but also in their physical and chemical properties.

Chromatin is an ubiquitous protein-DNA complex that forms the structural basis of DNA condensation in all eukaryotic organisms.

The DNA of young people is regulated to express the right genes at the right time. With the passing of years, the regulation of the DNA gradually gets disrupted, which is an important cause of ageing. A study of over 3,000 people shows that this is not true for everyone: there are people whose DNA appears…

The mission of the Plant Science research programme is to contribute to the sustainable production of high quality crops, flowers and high-value bio-based products. This is realised by generating fundamental knowledge of basic biological processes related to development of plants and their interaction…

Researching DNA material for genetic disorders using the most powerful apparatus. This is what GenomeScan, a company on the Leiden Bio Science Park, does. Master's student Konstantina Konstantinopoulou is doing an internship there. 'It's a world where developments happen really rapidly so it's a fantastic…

The main purpose of DNAmarkerpoint is to better understand the ecology, evolution and biodiversity through the study of ancient- and modern DNA.

The CMCB comprises research groups from the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

Why do opposites attract? According to Karin van der Tuin, researcher at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), it could be because of your DNA. The more you differ from one another, the better. She will be testing her ideas at the Lowlands festival Lowlands, where she will subject visitors to DNA…

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Host-Microbe Interactions research theme is to dissect how microorganisms and microbiomes interact with the plant host and the insects on those plants, and how these insights may be harnessed to improve plant growth and health, by steering microbiome composition and…

How do you fit two meters of DNA in a tiny compartment and at the same time are able to access the right parts of it at the right times?

Self-assembly is an abundant process in nature and is vital to many processes in living organisms.

Phosphorylation affects all four major biomolecules – proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids – and plays a pivotal role in the most fundamental cellular functions.

Leiden and Jülich researchers discovered an elegant and simple approach to improve the sensitivity of graphene biosensors. These so-called ‘next generation graphene electronic biochemical sensor devices’ are able to detect very low amounts of HIV DNA thanks to their very low electronic noise.