Dr. Daniela Hüber

Postdoc
Department of Developmental Biology
University of Göttingen
Research Group – PD Dr. Sigrid Hoyer-Fender

Most work in our lab is focused on the outer dense fibre protein 2 (ODF2) which was isolated first from rat, mouse and human testes.
We were able to show that the ODF2 protein is located to the outer dense fibre of the mammalian sperm tail and thus being one of its major components. Recently we isolated a soma specific splice variant which is localized on the centriole and during ciliogenesis to the basal body. We could show an association of this splice variant to acetylated tubulin and the primary cilia, which have essential roles in the human body.
Primary cilia defects or its cellular anchor, the basal body, have been associated with many pathophysiological phenotypes like Bardet-Biedl Syndrom (BBS), Kartagener syndrome (KS), Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) or Nephronophthisis (NPH).
In somatic cells ODF2 is also described as a component of the centrosome located to the distal and subdistal appendages of the mature centriole. It is assumed that the centrosome plays an important role in orchestrating cell cycle progression. Despite it is well recognized that the duplication of the centrosome and therefore of all centrosomal components have to be tightly linked to the cell cycle in order to achieve correct cell proliferation, nothing is known about transcriptional control of intrinsic centrosomal components and whether its disturbance is associated with tumorigenesis.

My research interests are the understanding of the transcriptional regulation of these intrinsic centrosomal proteins during the cell cycle and the correlation of centrosome - and cell cycle. The elucidation of the mechanisms of cell cycle progression is crucial for the understanding of cell division defects associated with diseases including cancer.
Using mammalian cells as model systems, I am dissecting the role of centrosomes and centrioles in cell cycle regulation. Questions are addressed using a broad range of methods including biochemistry, quantitative Real-time PCR, Laser scanning microscopy, live cell imaging, and molecular biology.

Publication / Poster:

Hüber, D., and Hoyer-Fender, S. 2007. Alternative splicing of exon 3b gives rise to ODF2 and Cenexin. Cytogenet Genome Res. In press

Hüber, D., Geisler, S. and Hoyer-Fender, S.: “RNAi – mediated depletion of ODF2 and the formation of a central MTOC.” EMBO Workshop 2005 on “Centrosomes and Spindle Pole Bodies” EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany.

References:

Burfeind, P., and S. Hoyer-Fender. 1991. Sequence and developmental expression of a mRNA encoding a putative protein of rat sperm outer dense fibers. Dev Biol. 148:195-204.

Donkor, F.F., M. Monnich, E. Czirr, T. Hollemann, and S. Hoyer-Fender. 2004. Outer dense fibre protein 2 (ODF2) is a self-interacting centrosomal protein with affinity for microtubules. J Cell Sci. 117:4643-51.

Hoyer-Fender, S., J. Neesen, J. Szpirer, and C. Szpirer. 2003. Genomic organisation and chromosomal assignment of ODF2 (outer dense fiber 2), encoding the main component of sperm tail outer dense fibers and a centrosomal scaffold protein. Cytogenet Genome Res. 103:122-7.

Hoyer-Fender, S., C. Petersen, H. Brohmann, K. Rhee, and D.J. Wolgemuth. 1998. Mouse Odf2 cDNAs consist of evolutionary conserved as well as highly variable sequences and encode outer dense fiber proteins of the sperm tail. Mol Reprod Dev. 51:167-75.