Per Sunnerhagen

Professor
Molecularbiology

Phone: 46 (0)31-786 3830
E-mail: per.sunnerhagen@cmb.gu.se

Research interests

Research in our group targets two main areas: stress signalling through MAP kinases, and checkpoint signalling and its effects on DNA repair and the cell cycle.

A wide variety of environmental stress conditions, including hyperosmosis, oxidative stress, heat, cold, ionising and UV irradiation, will trigger stress-activated MAP kinase (SAPK) pathways. These are found in animal, plant, and fungi, and have been implicated in inflammatory processes, defences against infection, coping with oxidative damage etc. SAPK pathways act on several levels of regulation. We are particularly interested in its regulatory effects on the post-transcriptional level (translation and mRNA turnover).

Checkpoint proteins are required to maintain genome integrity and avoid mutations. Checkpoint signalling activates and coordinates the cellular responses to damaged DNA and perturbed replication. Aberrations in DNA and chromatin structure activate the checkpoint pathway, leading to arrest or slowing down of the cell cycle and induction of genes involved in DNA repair and replication. Mutations in checkpoint genes are common in cancer cells. The components of checkpoint signalling pathways are likewise conserved throughout eukaryotes.

As experimental organisms we use the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We try to exploit evolutionary conservation of protein components and architecture of the signalling pathways to draw parallels to other biological systems, mainly human cells.

Our experimental techniques comprise molecular genetics methods, protein biochemistry, microscopy, and DNA arrays. We also employ tools of chemical biology to investigate dynamic and quantitative aspects of cell signalling.

Group members:

John Patrick Alao, Eva Asp, Kristina Jansson, Claes Molin, Daniel Nilsson, Jonas Warringer