Katharina Höfer

Research Area

The Höfer lab studies the epitranscriptomic mechanisms of gene regulation based on NAD-capped RNAs in bacteria. To identify novel and important connections between redox biology, gene expression and regulation we are combining cell biological, biochemical, structural, chemical and bioinformatic approaches. Our studies focus primarily on the model organism Escherichia coli, where we have identified NAD to be attached to a specific set of regulatory RNAs in bacteria in a cap-like manner, and to modulate the functions of these RNAs. To understand the biological significance of NAD-capped RNAs we are highly interested into proteins that are able to READ (decode), to re-WRITE (encode) or to ERASE (remove) NAD-RNAs. We have the vision that the NAD-cap serves as a molecular bub for proteins!

Expertise

RNA modifications
Transcriptomics
Biochemistry
RNA-protein interactions
Enzymology
Next-generation sequencing
Chemical biology

Recent Publications

1. Cahová H, Winz, M-L, Höfer K*, Nübel G, Jäschke A: NAD captureSeq indicates NAD as a bacterial cap for a subset of regulatory RNAs. Nature, 519:374-7, 2015.

2. Höfer K, Li S, Abele F, Frindert J, Schlotthauer J, Grawenhoff J, Du J, Patel DJ, Jäschke A: Structure and function of the bacterial decapping enzyme NudC. Nature Chemical Biology, 12:730-4, 2016.

3. Höfer K, Jäschke A, Epitranscriptomics – RNA modifications in bacteria and archaea, Microbiology Spectrum, 6:3, 2018.