We congratulate Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak to their Nobel Prize of 2009 for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
Chromosomes need functional caps at their ends. These caps are called telomeres. Telomerase is the enzyme synthesizing the specific DNA sequences found at the telomeres and is thus responsible for maintaining their lengths. Telomerase activity can be found in most tumor cells, implicating that an active telomerase seems to be a prerequisite for tumor growth. We are aiming to clarify the structure and function of telomeres. We hope to contribute fundamental knowledge about telomere maintenance and the evolution of this mechanism. This will help to elucidate the role of telomerase activity in tumorigenesis as well as the role of telomere shortening in aging.
Using yeast as a model system, we study the molecular mechanisms of telomere length regulation. Our research also focuses on the synthesis mechanisms of telomerase, and aims for the identification and functional analysis of the genes that regulate telomerase.
The present members of the telomere group are Marita Cohn (associate professor), Helena Fridholm (postdoctoral fellow), Cecilia Gustafsson (doctoral student), Christelle Fourie (project student) and Christoph Kuhl (project student). Former PhD students are Jenny Rhodin Edsö (thesis), Eimantas Astromskas (thesis) and Johan Wahlin (thesis).
Students interested in carrying out a degree project ("examensarbete") in molecular genetics are encouraged to contact Marita Cohn.
The image above is a fluorescent in situ hybridization showing the telomeric repeats in
polytenic chromosomes from Chironomus.
