Dr. Oliver Ernst

18th International Conference on Retinal Proteins

21 September 2018|

Oliver Ernst (Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics) and Leonid Brown (University of Guelph) are organizing the 18th International Conference on Retinal Proteins, 24-29 September 2018, Hockley Valley Resort, Ontario (1h northwest of Toronto). The Resort is fully booked, but day registrations are still possible to get latest insight into retinal proteins, which are key to optogenetics and understanding GPCR signaling. The conference welcomes two of the 2018 Gairdner awardees. For […]

Structure and Dynamics of Complexes of G Proteins and their Receptors

16 March 2018|

Ned Van Eps in the Ernst laboratory used DEER spectroscopy together with molecular modeling techniques to map the structure of a complex between a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and its G protein. A paper describing the methodology used for characterizing the binding interface of the rhodopsin–G protein complex has recently been published in PNAS. The authors discovered that the binding mode of G protein subtypes is distinct and key differences suggest […]

How GPCRs use phosphorylation codes for arrestin recruitment

23 August 2017|

DEER spectroscopy by Ned van Eps in the Ernst lab was used to validate the crystal structure of the phosphorylated G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) rhodopsin in complex with arrestin. EPR measurements confirmed the location of the C-terminal tail of rhodopsin on a arrestin binding surface in a non-crystallographic environment. GPCRs are among the most important cell surface receptors controlling nearly all of our physiology. Termination of G-protein-mediated signalling by an […]

Ernst Lab discover new way to crystallize membrane proteins

7 February 2017|

The laboratory of Dr. Oliver Ernst has used X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of a membrane protein that never left a lipid-bilayer environment (i.e., without the use of conventional detergents). The work, published in Structure and highlighted on the Journal’s cover, was led by postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jana Broecker. Polymer-bounded lipid nanodiscs were used to extract and purify membrane proteins with their surrounding lipids and allowed […]