Sequencing of whole genomes has provided new perspectives into the blueprints of diverse organisms. Knowing the sequences, however, does not always tell us much about the function of the genes that regulate development and homeostasis. Our laboratory is using different strategies to dissect gene function in mammalian cells relevant to cancer biology and stem cell research.

• We use endoribonuclease prepared siRNA libraries for functional genomic screens in mammalian cells (www.mpi-cbg.de/esiRNA).
• We study the role of runx1 in mouse development and leukaemogenesis.
• We apply directed molecular evolution to design novel recombinases for advanced genetic engineering.

Fig.1: Time-lapse movie of HeLa cells transfected with esiRNA targeting firefly luciferase (LUC) and a protein of the anaphase promoting complex (CDC16), respectively. Movies were started 24 hours post transfection and frames were recorded every 10 minutes. Note the increase of cells arrested in mitosis at later stages in the CDC16 knockdown.

Faculty of 1000 Biology:
http://www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1088418/evaluation

Faculty of 1000 Medicine:
http://www.f1000medicine.com/article/id/1087695/evaluation

watch a movie explaining how the recombinase works