Habilitation in five years
Tessa Quax receives funding for young researchers from the state of Baden-Württemberg
Photo: Tessa Quax
Tessa Quax: Surface structures of archaea and their role in interacting with their surroundings
The ability to perceive environmental stimuli and to react with directed movement is one of the essential features of any living organism. For this purpose archaea have developed a unique motility structure. Archaea are single-celled, nucleus-free microorganisms that are important for understanding of evolution. Archaea are ubiquitously present in nature and some species can adapt to extreme habitats – such as hot sulfur springs, or extreme salt lakes. Archaea are also found in the human intestinal tract and on human skin. Tessa Quax is studying the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction from the surrounding environment on motility structure of archaea. Moreover, she is investigating how archaeal viruses employ this motility structure during the infection process. Her findings will contribute to a better understanding of interaction of archaea with the environment and their colonization of the human body. Beyond that, structural information about the archaeal motility mechanism could contribute to the development of a biological nanomotor.
Contact:
Dr. Tessa Quax
Institute of Biology II – Microbiology
University of Freiburg
Phone: 0761/203-2631
E-mail: tessa.quax@biologie.uni-freiburg.de