Frauke BAYMANN will defend her thesis on Thursday 31 March at 2pm in the P. DESNUELLE amphitheatre on the Joseph Aiguier campus.
Jury
Abstract :
25 years of work on the same enzyme, and plans for the 15 years to come – this may sound like an obsession. What is so special about the Rieske/cytb complex to keep me busy for decades?
Rieske/cytb complexes are part of most bioenergetics reaction chains. They accept electrons from the quinone pool and transfer them to a terminal oxidase. Whatever quinone reductase and terminal oxidase there are, you will nearly always find the Rieske/cytb as the third party and this ever since the common ancestor of all living beings.
Working with the Rieske/cytb complex is therefore like travelling with a faithful companion: it takes you to a stroll across biodiversity, makes you meet many different metabolisms and allows a time travel back to the Last Universal Common Ancestor.
I sampled members of the Rieske/cytb enzyme family on this journey, traced down their common threats to conclude on the essentials empowering function while marveling at their diversity, thereby exploring a wide range of adaptations and interactions with their metabolic environment. Enough to stay hooked!
Published on 24/03/2022