Schmitt-Lab@HHU
@schmitt-lab.bsky.social
Professor of Biochemistry
Research interest: membrane biochemistry with focus on ABC transporters, drug efflux systems, bacterial secretion system, lantibiotics, and deubiquitinases
https://www.biochemistry1.hhu.de
Research interest: membrane biochemistry with focus on ABC transporters, drug efflux systems, bacterial secretion system, lantibiotics, and deubiquitinases
https://www.biochemistry1.hhu.de
Finally out – It is all about cholesterol
Thanks to all for this excellent collaboration
Thanks to all for this excellent collaboration
December 5, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Finally out – It is all about cholesterol
Thanks to all for this excellent collaboration
Thanks to all for this excellent collaboration
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
PanBGC: A pangenome-inspired framework for comparative analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters
#ISMEComms from @nadineziemert.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
#ISMEComms from @nadineziemert.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
PanBGC: A pangenome-inspired framework for comparative analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters
Abstract. Bacterial secondary metabolites are a major source of therapeutics and play key roles in microbial ecology. These compounds are encoded by biosyn
academic.oup.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM
PanBGC: A pangenome-inspired framework for comparative analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters
#ISMEComms from @nadineziemert.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
#ISMEComms from @nadineziemert.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
AI model Helixer predicts eukaryotic genes ab initio, directly from a plain text FASTA file.
No RNA-seq.
No protein homology.
No repeats, hints, or curated evidence.
Raw genome → accurate gene models.
Deep learning + HMM, published in @natmethods.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
No RNA-seq.
No protein homology.
No repeats, hints, or curated evidence.
Raw genome → accurate gene models.
Deep learning + HMM, published in @natmethods.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Helixer: ab initio prediction of primary eukaryotic gene models combining deep learning and a hidden Markov model - Nature Methods
By leveraging both deep learning and hidden Markov models, Helixer achieves broad taxonomic coverage for ab initio gene annotation of eukaryotic genomes from fungi, plants, vertebrates and invertebrat...
www.nature.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:00 AM
AI model Helixer predicts eukaryotic genes ab initio, directly from a plain text FASTA file.
No RNA-seq.
No protein homology.
No repeats, hints, or curated evidence.
Raw genome → accurate gene models.
Deep learning + HMM, published in @natmethods.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
No RNA-seq.
No protein homology.
No repeats, hints, or curated evidence.
Raw genome → accurate gene models.
Deep learning + HMM, published in @natmethods.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
📢Postdoc position available!🧪🧫🧬
Our group is seeking a motivated researcher to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving host–endosymbiont interactions.
Full details & application: karriere.hhu.de//index.php?a....
Please help us get the word out!
Our group is seeking a motivated researcher to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving host–endosymbiont interactions.
Full details & application: karriere.hhu.de//index.php?a....
Please help us get the word out!
Postdoc (m/f/d) in Endosymbiosis Research
karriere.hhu.de
November 25, 2025 at 11:21 AM
📢Postdoc position available!🧪🧫🧬
Our group is seeking a motivated researcher to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving host–endosymbiont interactions.
Full details & application: karriere.hhu.de//index.php?a....
Please help us get the word out!
Our group is seeking a motivated researcher to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving host–endosymbiont interactions.
Full details & application: karriere.hhu.de//index.php?a....
Please help us get the word out!
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
✨X-ray crystallography reveals surprising twist in how proteins enter the unique photosynthetic organelles of Paulinella. The chromatophore targeting peptide (crTP) folds into a 3D structure, hinting that folded proteins cross peptidoglycan and inner membrane. (1/2)
academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...
academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...
November 1, 2025 at 7:34 AM
✨X-ray crystallography reveals surprising twist in how proteins enter the unique photosynthetic organelles of Paulinella. The chromatophore targeting peptide (crTP) folds into a 3D structure, hinting that folded proteins cross peptidoglycan and inner membrane. (1/2)
academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...
academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...
New publication in J Mol Biol
New insights in to the function of the CLD and the entire hemolysin secretion machinery. Thanks to Holger Gohlke’s lab and CSS for the wonderful collaboration. Congrats to Sakshi and Cigdem!
New insights in to the function of the CLD and the entire hemolysin secretion machinery. Thanks to Holger Gohlke’s lab and CSS for the wonderful collaboration. Congrats to Sakshi and Cigdem!
October 26, 2025 at 9:54 AM
New publication in J Mol Biol
New insights in to the function of the CLD and the entire hemolysin secretion machinery. Thanks to Holger Gohlke’s lab and CSS for the wonderful collaboration. Congrats to Sakshi and Cigdem!
New insights in to the function of the CLD and the entire hemolysin secretion machinery. Thanks to Holger Gohlke’s lab and CSS for the wonderful collaboration. Congrats to Sakshi and Cigdem!
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
🚨Our paper is out! 🥳
Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for efficient genetic code expansion.
Many congrats to everyone involved - a multi-year effort led by @taruniype.bsky.social @maxfottner.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
it all started years ago with a failed experiment
🧵👇 1/9
Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for efficient genetic code expansion.
Many congrats to everyone involved - a multi-year effort led by @taruniype.bsky.social @maxfottner.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
it all started years ago with a failed experiment
🧵👇 1/9
Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for genetic code expansion - Nature
Bacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters can be utilized and engineered to transport non-canonical amino acids into Escherichia coli for highly efficient synthesis of proteins with novel func...
www.nature.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:06 PM
🚨Our paper is out! 🥳
Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for efficient genetic code expansion.
Many congrats to everyone involved - a multi-year effort led by @taruniype.bsky.social @maxfottner.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
it all started years ago with a failed experiment
🧵👇 1/9
Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for efficient genetic code expansion.
Many congrats to everyone involved - a multi-year effort led by @taruniype.bsky.social @maxfottner.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
it all started years ago with a failed experiment
🧵👇 1/9
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
New WHO report finds 1 in 6 bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments.
Data from over 100 countries warns that rising resistance to essential antibiotics poses a growing threat to global health.
Read more 👉bit.ly/438Ta1u
Data from over 100 countries warns that rising resistance to essential antibiotics poses a growing threat to global health.
Read more 👉bit.ly/438Ta1u
October 14, 2025 at 6:19 AM
New WHO report finds 1 in 6 bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments.
Data from over 100 countries warns that rising resistance to essential antibiotics poses a growing threat to global health.
Read more 👉bit.ly/438Ta1u
Data from over 100 countries warns that rising resistance to essential antibiotics poses a growing threat to global health.
Read more 👉bit.ly/438Ta1u
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
This is going to be fun - we are really pleased with the program - there is some really exciting science on the menu! Do sign up!
Registration open: 77. Mosbacher Kolloquium "More than lipidic barriers - New horizons in membrane biology" from March 25-28, 2026
lnkd.in/dgsW4c3
Scientific Organizers: Britta Brügger, Robert Ernst, André Nadler, Christian Ungermann
Early registration & poster abstracts until January 31, 2026
lnkd.in/dgsW4c3
Scientific Organizers: Britta Brügger, Robert Ernst, André Nadler, Christian Ungermann
Early registration & poster abstracts until January 31, 2026
October 9, 2025 at 6:42 AM
This is going to be fun - we are really pleased with the program - there is some really exciting science on the menu! Do sign up!
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Successful #türenauf mit der Maus Event 2025 @hhu.de done and dusted! Thanks to all the helpers @sophieguti.bsky.social @joguti.bsky.social Theo, Sarah, Suny, Lukas, Tom, Rachel, JJChemistry, Hannah and to @markussuta.bsky.social for lending some of his group members to give additional lab tours!
October 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Successful #türenauf mit der Maus Event 2025 @hhu.de done and dusted! Thanks to all the helpers @sophieguti.bsky.social @joguti.bsky.social Theo, Sarah, Suny, Lukas, Tom, Rachel, JJChemistry, Hannah and to @markussuta.bsky.social for lending some of his group members to give additional lab tours!
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Molecular structure of the ESCRT III-based archaeal CdvAB cell division machinery www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.15.676241v1 #cryoem
September 16, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Molecular structure of the ESCRT III-based archaeal CdvAB cell division machinery www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.15.676241v1 #cryoem
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Very excited to share new work out today in @natchembio.nature.com on a new approach - FACES - for selectively imaging of phospholipids and other biomolecules at spatial resolutions down to individual membrane leaflets (1/n) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Leaflet-specific phospholipid imaging using genetically encoded proximity sensors - Nature Chemical Biology
An approach combining bioorthogonal chemistry with genetically encoded fluorogen-activating proteins enables subcellular imaging of phospholipids and glycans, as well as the visualization of lipid tra...
www.nature.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Very excited to share new work out today in @natchembio.nature.com on a new approach - FACES - for selectively imaging of phospholipids and other biomolecules at spatial resolutions down to individual membrane leaflets (1/n) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Science is real
August 31, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Science is real
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
🧪 The University of Basel is setting up a new endowed professorship in #ClimateBiophysics at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch, funded by the Georg H. Endress Foundation. This new professorship strengthens climate research @unibas.ch. www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news/detail/...
New endowed professorship strengthens climate research at the University of Basel
The University of Basel is setting up a new endowed professorship at the Biozentrum to make fundamental discoveries at the interface between biophysics and climate-relevant environmental biology. This...
www.biozentrum.unibas.ch
August 26, 2025 at 7:10 AM
🧪 The University of Basel is setting up a new endowed professorship in #ClimateBiophysics at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch, funded by the Georg H. Endress Foundation. This new professorship strengthens climate research @unibas.ch. www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news/detail/...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Was lucky to see this presented at the NYC cryoEM meeting earlier this year - super cool stuff!
August 22, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Was lucky to see this presented at the NYC cryoEM meeting earlier this year - super cool stuff!
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Coming out in @NaturePlants today (rdcu.be/eBScJ): The mechanism for essential amino acid transport across the chloroplast envelope. We identified RETICULATA1 (RE1) as a new type of transport protein. #PlantScience #AminoAcidTransport #Chloroplasts. @franzikuhnert.bsky.social @weberlab.bsky.social
August 22, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Coming out in @NaturePlants today (rdcu.be/eBScJ): The mechanism for essential amino acid transport across the chloroplast envelope. We identified RETICULATA1 (RE1) as a new type of transport protein. #PlantScience #AminoAcidTransport #Chloroplasts. @franzikuhnert.bsky.social @weberlab.bsky.social
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
We are hiring a Postdoc in membrane protein cryo-EM at the University of Georgia. Looking for candidates with expertise in membrane protein purification and biochemistry. Fully funded for up to 5 years. Join us in Athens, GA. Apply: camilo.perez@uga.edu
August 21, 2025 at 2:26 PM
We are hiring a Postdoc in membrane protein cryo-EM at the University of Georgia. Looking for candidates with expertise in membrane protein purification and biochemistry. Fully funded for up to 5 years. Join us in Athens, GA. Apply: camilo.perez@uga.edu
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Researchers have developed a #DeepLearning system called BioEmu that rapidly generates diverse protein conformations, enabling fast, accurate insights into protein flexibility and function.
Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/3JdQVD4
Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/3JdQVD4
August 14, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Researchers have developed a #DeepLearning system called BioEmu that rapidly generates diverse protein conformations, enabling fast, accurate insights into protein flexibility and function.
Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/3JdQVD4
Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/3JdQVD4
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
AI-generated de novo antibiotic compounds show activity against drug-resistant bacteria #NBThighlight www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
A generative deep learning approach to de novo antibiotic design
A generative AI platform is developed for de novo antibiotic design, yielding lead
compounds with selective antibacterial activity, distinct mechanisms of action, and
in vivo efficacy against multidru...
www.cell.com
August 15, 2025 at 7:57 AM
AI-generated de novo antibiotic compounds show activity against drug-resistant bacteria #NBThighlight www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
#microsky
We challenge the long-standing view that peptidoglycan alone protects cells from bursting.
Our study shows that the periplasm — enclosed by OM–PG connections — acts as a pressure buffer essential for osmoprotection in Gram-negative bacteria.
📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We challenge the long-standing view that peptidoglycan alone protects cells from bursting.
Our study shows that the periplasm — enclosed by OM–PG connections — acts as a pressure buffer essential for osmoprotection in Gram-negative bacteria.
📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Peptidoglycan–outer membrane attachment generates periplasmic pressure to prevent lysis in Gram-negative bacteria - Nature Microbiology
Outer membrane attachment to peptidoglycan enables periplasmic pressure to build up and counter cytoplasmic turgor pressure, preventing lysis during osmotic challenges in Escherichia coli.
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:23 PM
#microsky
We challenge the long-standing view that peptidoglycan alone protects cells from bursting.
Our study shows that the periplasm — enclosed by OM–PG connections — acts as a pressure buffer essential for osmoprotection in Gram-negative bacteria.
📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We challenge the long-standing view that peptidoglycan alone protects cells from bursting.
Our study shows that the periplasm — enclosed by OM–PG connections — acts as a pressure buffer essential for osmoprotection in Gram-negative bacteria.
📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Scientists have developed a new gene-editing approach that reprograms pathogens to stop producing toxins and instead make a helpful molecule. cen.acs.org/biological-c... 🧪
CRISPR system reprograms bacteria to disarm deadly toxin
Gene-editing technique disables Shiga toxin genes in <i>E. coli</i>
cen.acs.org
July 29, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Scientists have developed a new gene-editing approach that reprograms pathogens to stop producing toxins and instead make a helpful molecule. cen.acs.org/biological-c... 🧪
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Ready to lead pioneering research that bridges systems-level investigations of biological systems to molecular mechanism? The EMBL Molecular Systems Biology Unit in Heidelberg is hiring a Group Leader!
Group Leader – Molecular Systems Biology Unit
Are you ready to lead groundbreaking research in Molecular Systems Biology? Join us at EMBL! We are seeking a motivated scientist to lead an independent research group, addressing original biological ...
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Ready to lead pioneering research that bridges systems-level investigations of biological systems to molecular mechanism? The EMBL Molecular Systems Biology Unit in Heidelberg is hiring a Group Leader!
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Neue #DFG-Analyse zur Fächerbeteiligung Exzellenzclustern innerhalb der #ExStra: Data Story zeigt breite fachliche Beteiligung; 90 % aller an dt. Universitäten vertretenen Lehr-/Forschungsbereiche sind vertreten. Hohe Interdisziplinarität; KI ist zentrales Thema ➡️ fcld.ly/exstradatast...
July 28, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Neue #DFG-Analyse zur Fächerbeteiligung Exzellenzclustern innerhalb der #ExStra: Data Story zeigt breite fachliche Beteiligung; 90 % aller an dt. Universitäten vertretenen Lehr-/Forschungsbereiche sind vertreten. Hohe Interdisziplinarität; KI ist zentrales Thema ➡️ fcld.ly/exstradatast...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Proud to share our first lab pre-print: “SND3 is the membrane insertase within a fungal multipass translocon” where @tzujingyang.bsky.social solved the structure of a ribosome-associated SND3-translocon complex involved in ER membrane protein insertion ➡️ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
July 12, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Proud to share our first lab pre-print: “SND3 is the membrane insertase within a fungal multipass translocon” where @tzujingyang.bsky.social solved the structure of a ribosome-associated SND3-translocon complex involved in ER membrane protein insertion ➡️ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Schmitt-Lab@HHU
Congrats to @schmitt-lab.bsky.social & Co. for having that out! 👏🥂 Happy to contribute a few lines to the story
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Structural insights into the substrate binding mechanism of the class I dehydratase MadB - Communications Biology
Class I lantibiotic dehydratases play a key role in the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized peptide antibiotics. We present structural insights into MadB in two states, revealing the conformationa...
www.nature.com
July 10, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Congrats to @schmitt-lab.bsky.social & Co. for having that out! 👏🥂 Happy to contribute a few lines to the story
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...