Faculty Profile

Fields of Study

Molecular Biology of Heat and Oxidative Stress Defense

Areas of Focus

Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Microbiology

Research Interest

Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Microbiology.

About Ursula Jakob

Dr. Jakob's research is on the biochemical aspects of the bacterial response to heat shock.

Dr. Jakob received her B.S. degree in 1991 from Regensburg University in Germany, and her Ph.D. in 1995 also from Regensburg University. From 1996 until 1998 she was a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan with a fellowship from the German government, and from 1998 until 2001 she was an Assistant Research scientist at UM.

Dr. Jakob has been chosen as a "Biological Scholar" at the University of Michigan, a prestigious designation awarded by a University-wide committee. She is also a recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences 2000. In addition, she won a Sokol Postdoctoral Award in 1998.

Publications

Yi L, Jenkins PM, Leichert LI, Jakob U, Martens JR, Ragsdale SW. (2009). "Heme regulatory motifs in heme oxygenase-2 form a thiol/disulfide redox switch that responds to the cellular redox state." J Biol Chem. 284(31):20556-61. Read Publication.

Kumsta C, Jakob U. (2009). "Redox-regulated chaperones." Biochemistry 48(22):4666-76. Read Publication.

Barth E, Gora KV, Gebendorfer KM, Settele F, Jakob U, Winter J. (2009). "Interplay of cellular cAMP levels, {sigma}S activity and oxidative stress resistance in Escherichia coli." Microbiology 155(Pt 5):1680-9. Read Publication.

Tapley TL, Körner JL, Barge MT, Hupfeld J, Schauerte JA, Gafni A, Jakob U, Bardwell JC. (2009). "Structural plasticity of an acid-activated chaperone allows promiscuous substrate binding." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 106(14):5557-62. Read Publication.

Winter J, Ilbert M, Graf PC, Ozcelik D, Jakob U. (2008). "Bleach activates a redox-regulated chaperone by oxidative protein unfolding." Cell 135(4):691-701. Read Publication.

Brandes N, Schmitt S, Jakob U. (2008). "Thiol-Based Redox Switches in Eukaryotic Proteins." Antioxid Redox Signal [Epub ahead of print] Read Publication.

Herrmann JM, Jakob U. (2008). "Special issue: redox regulation of protein folding. Preface." Biochim Biophys Acta 1783(4):519. Read Publication.

Leichert, L.I., Gehrke F., Gudiseva, H.V., Ilbert, M., Blackwell, T., Walker, A.K., Strahler, J.R., Andrews, P.C. and U. Jakob (2007). "Quantifying Changes in the Thiol Redox Proteome Upon Oxidative Stress in Vivo." Proc Nat Acad Sci 105(24):8197-202. Read Publication.

Ilbert, M., Horst, J., Ahrens, S., Winter, J., Graf, P.C., Lilie, H., Jakob, U. (2007). "The redox-switch domain of Hsp33 functions as dual stress sensor." Nat Struct Mol Biol 556-563. Read Publication.

Brandes, N., Rinck, A., Leichert, L.I. and U. Jakob. (2007). "Nitrosative stress treatment of E. coli targets distinct set of thiol-containing proteins." Mol Microbiol 66 (4): 901-914. Read Publication.

Leichert, L.I. and Jakob, U (2006). "Global Methods to Monitor the Thiol-Disulfide State of Proteins in vivo." Antioxid Redox Signal 8, 763-772. Read Publication.

Mufti, A.R., Burstein, E., Csomos, R.A., Graf, P.C.F., Wilkinson, J.C., Dick, R.D., Challa, M., Son, J.K., Bratton, S.B., Su, G.L., Brewer, G.J., Jakob, U. and C.S. Duckett (2006). "XIAP Is a copper binding protein deregulated in Wilson's disease and other copper toxicosis disorders." Mol Cell 21: 775-785. Read Publication.

Liu, X.I., Korde, N., Jakob, U., and Leichert, L.I.O (2006). "CoSMoS: Conserved Sequence Motif Search in the proteome." BMC Bioinformatics 7: 37. Read Publication.

Leichert, L.I.O. and Jakob, U (2005). "Protein Thiol Modifications in vivo." Antioxidant and Redox Signaling invited review.

Ilbert, M. and Jakob, U (2005). "Hsp33 - A Redox Regulated Chaperone." Antioxidant and Redox Signaling invited review.

Winter, J., Linke, K., Jatzek, A., and Jakob, U (2005). "Severe Oxidative Stress Causes Inactivation of DnaK and Activation of the Redox Regulated Chaperone Hsp33." Mo. Cell. 17: 381-392. Read Publication.

Winter, J. and Jakob, U (2004). "Beyond Transcription - Novel Mechanisms to Regulate Molecular Chaperone Activity." Critical Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 39: 297-317. Read Publication.

Janda, I., Devedjiev, Y., Derewenda, U., Dauter, Z., Bielnicki, J., Cooper, D.R., Graf, P.C.F., Joachimiak, A., Jakob, U. and Derewenda, Z (2004). "The Crystal Structure of the Reduced Zn²⁺-Bound Form of the B. subtilis Hsp33 Chaperone and its Implications for the Activation Mechanism." Structure 12: 1901-1907. Read Publication.

Leichert, L., and Jakob, U (2004). "Protein Thiol Modifications Visualized in vivo." PloS Biology 2: e333. Read Publication.

Won, H.-S., Low, L.Y., DeGuzman, R., Martinez-Yamout, M., Jakob, U. and Dyson, H.J (2004). "The Zinc-dependent Redox Switch Domain of the Chaperone Hsp33 has a Novel Fold." J. Mol. Biol. 341: 893-899. Read Publication.

Hager, J., Staker, B. and Jakob, U (2004). "Substrate binding analysis of the 23S rRNA methyltransferase RrmJ." J. Bact. 186: 6634-6642. Read Publication.

Graf, P.C.F., Martinez-Yamout, M., VanHaerents, S., Lilie, H., Dyson J. H. and Jakob, U (2004). "Activation of the redox regulated chaperone Hsp33 by domain unfolding." J. Biol. Chem. 279: 20520-20538. Read Publication.

Hoffmann, J.H., Graf, P.C.F., Linke, K., Lilie, H. and Jakob, U (2004). "Identification of a redox regulated chaperone network." EMBO J. 23: 160-168. Read Publication.

Hoffmann, J.H. and U. Jakob. 2004. (2004). "Redox regulation of chaperones." in: Protein Folding Handbook. eds. Buchner, J. and Kiefhaber, T., Wiley-VCH, ISBN: 3-527-30784-2

Linke, K., Wolfram, T., Bussemer, J. and Jakob, U (2003). "The roles of the two zinc binding sites in DnaJ." J. Biol. Chem. 278: 44457-44466. Read Publication.

Collet, J.F., D'Souza, J.C., Jakob, U., Bardwell, J.C (2003). "Thioredoxin 2, an oxidative stress induced protein, contains a high affinity zinc binding site." J. Biol. Chem. 278: 45325-45332. Read Publication.

Linke, K. and Jakob, U (2003). "Not every disulfide lasts forever: disulfide bond formation as a redox switch." Antioxid Redox Signal 5: 425-434. Read Publication.

Hager, J., Staker, B.L., Bugl, H and Jakob, U (2002). "Active site in RrmJ, a heat shock induced methyltransferase." J. Biol. Chem. 277: 41978-41986. Read Publication.

Graf, P.C.F. and U. Jakob (2002). "Redox regulated molecular chaperones." Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 59: 1624-1631. Read Publication.

Tan, J., Jakob, U. and J.C.A. Bardwell (2002). "Overexpression of two different GTPases rescues a null mutation in a heat-induced rRNA methyltransferase. ." J. Bact. 184, 2692-2698. Read Publication.

Vijayalakshm, J., Mukherjee M., Graumann, J., Jakob, U. and M. Saper (2001). "The 2.2 Å Crystal Structure of Hsp33: A Heat Shock Protein with Redox-regulated Chaperone Activity." Structure 9: 367-375. Read Publication.