Targeted Protein Degradation
Groups Bachmair Becker Clausen Dagdas Gross (associated) Haselbach Karagöz Köhler Martens Piazza Ramundo Urbán Versteeg Winter Previously a member: Beli Previously a member: Loizou

Group Bachmair

N-degron pathways in plants

Group Leader

Andreas Bachmair

After his PhD in Biochemistry in Vienna, Andreas Bachmair did postdoctoral research at the MIT in Cambridge, USA, and at the MPI for Plant Breeding Research in Germany. 1991-2002 he was Assistant Professor at the University of Vienna, 2002-2008 Group Leader at the MPI for Plant Breeding Research, and in 2009 back to the University of Vienna, first as Associate Professor and since 2019 full Professor at the Max Perutz Labs.

Projects within consortium

The amino terminus of a protein is a determinant of its half-life. Using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, we investigate how proteins are turned over that have N-terminal amino acids with bulky side chain. We are interested in pathway components and in signal transduction cascades that depend on these pathways. Particular focus lies on N-terminal Leu, because for these proteins, the degradation path is currently uncharacterized.

The amino terminus is an important determinant of a protein´s half-life. This pertains not only to primary translation products, but even more to products of proteolytic processing, generated by over five hundred proteases encoded in every metazoan genome. Many of the neo-N-termini generated by these latter enzymes are signals that shorten the protein half-life, channeling affected proteins into degradation routes called N-degron pathways. Unacetylated first amino acids can act as degradation signals if they have either a hydrophobic, or a basic side chain. Degradation of proteins with basic first residue is mechanistically similar in animals and in plants, and participates in oxygen sensing. In contrast, turnover of proteins with hydrophobic N-terminal residues uses pathways that differ between animals and plants. Of particular interest to us is the degradation route for plant proteins with aliphatic hydrophobic amino-terminal residues such as Leu, because it is still uncharacterized. Our preliminary data suggest that both the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and autophagy participate in degradation. We are studying the pathway components using model substrates and a broad array of genetic, biochemical and cell biology methods. We also want to identify signal transduction cascades that utilize these pathways in stress response and development.

Accumulation of a GUS protein with N-terminal Leu in prt (proteolysis) mutant seedlings can be visualized by increased conversion of a chromogenic substrate into a blue precipitate.

Project members

  • Postdoc

    Carolina Saad

    SFB Member

  • former Postdoc

    Nikola Winter

    (until 2024-02)

Targeted Protein Degradation related publications by Group Bachmair

  • 2025 The UBR domain of plant Ubr1 homolog PRT6 accommodates basic and hydrophobic amino termini for substrate recognition Journal of Molecular Biology Rudi O, Hodakova Z, Saad CF, Winter N, Grishkovskaya I, Böhm J, Jarck G, Schleiffer A, Haselbach D, Bachmair A Go to publication →
  • 2024 ATG8ylation of vacuolar membrane protects plants against cell wall damage bioRxiv Julian J, Gao P, Del Chiaro A, De La Concepcion JC, Armengot L, Somssich M, Duverge H, Clavel M, Grujic N, Kobylinska R, Polivka I, Besten M, Dank C, Korbei B, Bachmair A, Coll NS, Sprakel J, Dagdas Y. Go to publication →
  • 2024 BIG enhances Arg/N-degron pathway-mediated protein degradation to regulate Arabidopsis hypoxia responses and suberin deposition Plant Cell Zhang H, Rundle C, Winter N, Miricescu A, Mooney BC, Bachmair A, Graciet E, Theodoulou FL Go to publication →
  • 2023 Analysis of higher plant N-degron pathway components and substrates via expression in S. cerevisiae Methods in Enzymology Böhm J, Winter N, Kozlic A, Telser T, Nehlin L, Bachmair A Go to publication →
  • 2023 SUMO Conjugation and SUMO Chain Formation by Plant Enzymes Methods in Molecular Biology Tomanov K, Julian J, Ziba I, Bachmair A Go to publication →
  • 2022 Transcriptome, metabolome and suppressor analysis reveal an essential role for the ubiquitin-proteasome system in seedling chloroplast development BMC Plant Biology Talloji P, Nehlin L, Hüttel B, Winter N, Černý M, Dufková H, Hamali B, Hanczaryk K, Novák J, Hermanns M, Drexler N, Eifler K, Schlaich N, Brzobohatý B, Bachmair A Go to publication →
  • 2022 A yeast-based functional assay to study plant N-degron – N-recognin interactions Frontiers in Plant Science Kozlic A, Winter N, Telser T, Reimann J, Rose K, Nehlin L, Berckhan S, Sharma G, Dambire C, Boeckx T, Holdsworth MJ, Bachmair A Go to publication →
  • 2021 Cellular control of protein turnover via modification of the amino terminus International Journal of Molecular Sciences Winter N, Novatchkova M and Bachmair A Go to publication →