Co-workers: Thomas Plath, Boris Radau, Patrick Schneider
Corinna Lippmann a postdoc of Prof. V. A. Erdmann's group has chosen
a central protein of the elongation cycle of protein biosynthesis for her
studies on posttranslational modifications in prokaryotes. The subject
of interest, the elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) carries two to three modifications,
depending on growth - or activity state. One of the reversible modifications,
the phosphorylation was described for the first time by Dr. Lippmann.
Several experimental results indicate that the phosphorylation is part
of the elongation cycle of protein biosynthesis. The strictly conserved
position, threonine 382 in E.coli is located at a crucial point in the
interface between the first and third domain of the three-domain protein.
Introduction of a phosphate group leads to a switch of the condensed (GTP-complexed)
formation to the more open GDP form. Both structures are known at high
resolution since Corinna Lippmann first succeeded in growing crystals from
the intact protein suitable for X-ray analysis.
The investigations comprise methods in protein biochemistry and molecular
biology. The working group consists of two Ph.D. students and one master
student. Frequently postdocs from other European countries are joining
the group of Corinna Lippmann. The studies on the EF-Tu project are supported
by the DFG (Li 611 1/2) and the European Community.
Furthermore Corinna Lippmann is involved in a trilateral project between
Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Germany, initiated and coordinated
by Prof. V. A. Erdmann concerned with tumour diagnosis and therapy based
on oncofetal RNAs.
Selected publications:
Lippmann C., Lindschau C. & Erdmann V.A. (1992)
Thin-layer electrophoresis with PhastSystem facilitates analysis of phosphoamino
acids from proteins bound to Immobilon.
Electrophoresis, 13, 666-668
Lippmann C., Lindschau C., Vijgenboom E., Schröder W., Bosch L.
& Erdmann V.A. (1993)
Prokaryotic elongation factor is phosphorylated in vivo.
J.Biol.Chem., 268, 601-607
Abdel-Rahim E., Ahmed F.A., Abdel-Fatah O.M., Erdmann V.A. & Lippmann
C. (1995)
The changes of protein patterns during one week of germination of some
legume seeds and roots.
Food Chemistry, 52, 433-437
Alexander C., Mesters J.R., Kraal B., Bilgin N., Hilgenfeld R., Lindschau
C., Erdmann V.A. & Lippmann C. (1995)
Phosphorylation of EF-Tu prevents ternary complex formation.
J.Biol.Chem. 270, 14541-14547
Polekhina G., Thirup S., Kjeldgaard M., Nissen P., Lippmann C. &
Nyborg J. (1996)
Crystal structure of intact elongation factor Tu in complex with GDP. submitted
Corinna Lippmann, pollux@chemie.fu-berlin.de