Andreas
HOUBEN
Research Group Leader
ORCID link : 0000-0003-3419-239X
Website links : Research
IRP : Comparative chromatin analysis of supernumerary and standard chromosomes
IPK Leibniz Institute, Germany
Comparative chromatin analysis of supernumerary and standard chromosomes
The group’s research focus is the biology of chromosomes, specifically aiming to explore the regulation, organization, segregation and evolution of the mitotic, meiotic and interphase chromosomes of both model, wild and crop species. Such knowledge has the potential to increase the efficiency of the crop breeding process.
We are currently
I
Analyzing both the organization and dynamics of cell-cycle-dependent chromatin in nuclei and chromosomes, which requires the application of super-resolution microscopy and light sheet microscopy (AGILE project).
II
Unravel the origin and evolution of supernumerary B chromosomes.
III
Decipher the interphase dynamics of B chromosomes and the regulation of B chromosome-located genes (AGILE project).
IV
Developing CRISPR/dCas9-based tool to enable the visualization of specific target sequences in living and fixed cells.
V
Analyzing the process of chromosome drive and elimination
Five Main Publications
Kinetochore mutations and histone phosphorylation pattern changes accompany holo- and macro-monocentromere evolution
Kuo YT, Neumann P, Chen J, Fuchs F, Schubert V, Kumke K, Sader MA, Melzer M, Zhu Z, Himmelbach A, Houben A. (2025) Nature Comm
CRISPR-Cas–mediated heritable chromosome fusions in Arabidopsis
Rönspies M, Khosravi S, Helia O, Valisi A, Fajkus J, Fojtová M, Houben A, Puchta H (2025) Science 390,843-848(2025). DOI:10.1126/science.adz8505
The genetic mechanism of B chromosome drive in rye illuminated by chromosome-scale assembly
Chen J, Bartoš J, Boudichevskaia A, Voigt A, Rabanus-Wallace M.T, Dreissig S, Tulpová Z, Šimková H, Macas J, Kim G, Buhl J, Bürstenbinder K, Blattner FR, Fuchs J, SchmutzerT, Himmelbach A, Schubert V, Houben A (2024) Nature Comm 15, 9686. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53799-w
Holocentromeres can consist of merely a few megabase-sized satellite arrays
Kuo YT, Camara AS, Schubert V, Neumann P, Macas J, Melzer M, Chen J, Fuchs J, Abel S, Klocke E, Huettel B, Himmelbach A, Demidov D, Dunemann F, Mascher M, Ishii T, Marques A, Houben A (2023) Nature Comm 14 (1). DOI: 3502. 10.1038/s41467-023-38922-7
Selfish supernumerary chromosome reveals its origin as a mosaic of host genome and organellar sequences.
Martis, M.M., Klemme, S., Banaei-Moghaddam, A.M., Blattner, F.R., Macas, J., Schmutzer, T., Scholz, U., Gundlach, H., Wicker, T., Simkova, H., Novak, P., Neumann, P., Kubalakova, M., Bauer, E., Haseneyer, G., Fuchs, J., Dolezel, J., Stein, N., Mayer, K.F., and Houben, A. (2012). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109, 13343-13346. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1204237109.