@georghochberg.bsky.social
Evolutionary biochemist and protein complex enthusiast at the University of Marburg.
Pinned
A general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics.
Abstract. Sequence-based maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetics is a widely used method for inferring evolutionary relationships, which has illuminated the
academic.oup.com
New paper from the lab from Sriram Garg in my group. We introduce a general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics. I think this is a big deal, so read on below if you think deep history is important. academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
A new preprint from the lab. I won't do a tweetorial until this is peer reviewed, but I think it's a banger, led by
@JedNzy. It's about Rubisco and what chaperones are really for. He's on the market, get him while you can. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@JedNzy. It's about Rubisco and what chaperones are really for. He's on the market, get him while you can. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Origin of chaperone dependence and assembly complexity in Rubisco biogenesis
Molecular chaperones assist with the folding and assembly of protein clients. Consequently, they are essential to diverse cellular functions. In most aerobic photosynthetic organisms such as B-cyanoba...
www.biorxiv.org
September 24, 2025 at 7:53 PM
A new preprint from the lab. I won't do a tweetorial until this is peer reviewed, but I think it's a banger, led by
@JedNzy. It's about Rubisco and what chaperones are really for. He's on the market, get him while you can. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@JedNzy. It's about Rubisco and what chaperones are really for. He's on the market, get him while you can. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The Beeby lab's magnum opus on the Campylobacter flagellum is out. This is a uniquely powerful flagellum and how it evolved out of simpler precursors will keep us busy for a while still. Check it out! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In situ structure of a bacterial flagellar motor at subnanometre resolution reveals adaptations for increased torque - Nature Microbiology
In situ cryoEM and modelling of the Campylobacter jejuni flagellar motor characterize the periplasmic scaffold and the structural basis for increased torque generation.
www.nature.com
July 1, 2025 at 7:16 PM
The Beeby lab's magnum opus on the Campylobacter flagellum is out. This is a uniquely powerful flagellum and how it evolved out of simpler precursors will keep us busy for a while still. Check it out! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Franziska did a spectacularly successful PhD in my group and to a large extend set up the lab when we first started. I'm extremely happy for her (though not the least bit surprised) that she won these very important awards for her PhD. Watch this one, great things are certain to come.
📢 Congratulations 𝗗𝗿. 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇𝗶𝘀𝗸𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗸𝗲𝗿 for receiving the Otto Hahn Medal and Otto Hahn Award from @maxplanck.de ! 🎉 The honors recognize her exceptional work @georghochberg.bsky.social. 🌟 Exciting times ahead! #MaxPlanck #ResearchExcellence www.mpi-marburg.mpg.de/1511259/2025...
Triple Honours for Franziska Sendker
Dr Franziska Sendker, a former doctoral candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, has been awarded the Otto Hahn Medal by the Max Planck Society. The medal honours the outstanding achievements of young scientists and comes with a prize of 7,500 euros. In March 2025, she received the Bayer Pharmaceuticals Doctoral Award from the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM e.V.), presented at the Mosbach Colloquium. Franziska Sendker's research showed that complex protein forms can arise not only through natural selection, but also through random genetic changes.
www.mpi-marburg.mpg.de
June 26, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Franziska did a spectacularly successful PhD in my group and to a large extend set up the lab when we first started. I'm extremely happy for her (though not the least bit surprised) that she won these very important awards for her PhD. Watch this one, great things are certain to come.
New paper from the lab from Sriram Garg in my group. We introduce a general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics. I think this is a big deal, so read on below if you think deep history is important. academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
A general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics.
Abstract. Sequence-based maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetics is a widely used method for inferring evolutionary relationships, which has illuminated the
academic.oup.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
New paper from the lab from Sriram Garg in my group. We introduce a general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics. I think this is a big deal, so read on below if you think deep history is important. academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
An enormous amount of work went into this from so many people: our leadership at the MPI and the university, the scientific team, the administrative support and of course all the scientists that did the science that laid the foundation for all this. What a rush to be part of this!
📢 We are proud and delighted that our Microbes for Climate (M4C) Cluster of Excellence has been selected for the 2025 Excellence Strategy! 🌟Together with @unimarburg.bsky.social, we look forward to exciting #microbe research – stay tuned! @unimarburg.bsky.social @maxplanck.de @synmikro.bsky.social
May 23, 2025 at 8:03 AM
An enormous amount of work went into this from so many people: our leadership at the MPI and the university, the scientific team, the administrative support and of course all the scientists that did the science that laid the foundation for all this. What a rush to be part of this!
Dennis from the group contributed to this paper, showing that an assembly chaperone of PSII has identifiable precursors in non-photosynthetic organisms.
Happy to present the lab latest work, today from the green-side. The ultimate PSII assembly intermediate that directly precedes incorporation of the Mn4O5Ca cluster and formation of the OEC. Psb32 binds to PsbV, challenging the assumption the extrinsic subunits all associate spontaneously in-vivo.
May 12, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Dennis from the group contributed to this paper, showing that an assembly chaperone of PSII has identifiable precursors in non-photosynthetic organisms.
This is a wild paper. The anaerobic biochemistry is definitely worth your while (and beyond me to explain), but let me try to explain why this is also an evolutionary bombshell. This is about how nitrogen fixation evolved as we know it.
I'm truly excited to announce our new publication in @nature.com unraveling a central picture of the Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) activation machinery and it's strong ATP dependency - kudos to @rnfr2d2.bsky.social for the fantastic illustration!
LINK: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
LINK: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
April 16, 2025 at 5:31 PM
This is a wild paper. The anaerobic biochemistry is definitely worth your while (and beyond me to explain), but let me try to explain why this is also an evolutionary bombshell. This is about how nitrogen fixation evolved as we know it.
Now also on here to very occasionally post protein evolution stuff.
January 20, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Now also on here to very occasionally post protein evolution stuff.