Stefan Åström

Professor Stefan Åström

Stockholm University
The Wenner-Gren Institute
Developmental Biology
Svante Arrheniusväg 20B, room E329
106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Email:stefan.astrom@devbio.su.se
Phone: 0046 8 16 15 66
Fax: 0046 8 61 26 127

www.yeastgenome.org

www.genolevures.org

 

Selected publications

Barsoum, E., Rajaei, N. &Åström S. U. (2011) RAS/cAMP and the transcription factor Msn2 regulate mating and mating-type switching in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. Eukaryotic cell, 10, 1545-1552.

Tsaponina, O., Barsoum, E., Åström S. U.& Chabes A. (2011) Ixr1 is required for the expression of the ribonucleotidereductase Rnr1 and maintenance of dNTP pools. PLOS Genetics, 7, e1002061

Barsoum, E., Martinez, P. &Åström S. U. (2010) alpha3, a transposable element that promotes host sexual reproduction. Genes Dev. 24, 33-44.

Barsoum, E., Sjöstrand, J. O. O. &Åström S. U. (2010) Ume6 is required for the MATa/MATalpha-cellular identity and transcriptional silencing in Kluyveromyces lactis. Genetics, 193, 1-13.

Carter, S. D.,Vigašová, D., Chen, J., Chovanec, M. &Åström S. U. (2009) Nej1 Recruits the Srs2 Helicase to DNA Double Strand Breaks and Supports Repair by a Single Strand Annealing-like Mechanism. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.106, 12037-12042.
 

 


 

Chromatin

Role of chromatin in silencing and DSB-repair

The genomic DNA in eukaryotic cells is organized into a structure called chromatin. The basic unit of chromatin is the nucleosome in which 146bp of DNA is wrapped around a histone octamer. Posttranslational modifications of histones affect chromatin structure, which in turn affect processes like transcription and DNA-repair. We want to investigate how transcriptional silencing and DSB-repair is affected by chromatin structure.

 

DSB-repair

Induction and repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs)

One project in this laboratory focuses on how spontaneous DSBs arise and how they are repaired. The long-term goals are to create a better understanding of these processes to improve cancer treatment and to gain insights into the evolutionary process. For these studies, we use unicellular yeasts as model systems, namely the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the milk yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. A vast array of molecular genetic tools is available for these organisms, making it possible to manipulate them for your own needs. It is known that basic cellular processes, such as DSB-repair and regulation of chromatin structure are conserved among eukaryotes. Together, this makes yeasts ideally suited for these studies.

 

Contacts

Cell Biology  Per Ljungdahl, Phone: +46 8 16 41 01

Developmental Biology Christos Samakovlis, Phone: + 46 8 16 15 64

Immunology Marita Troye Blomberg, Phone: + 46 8 16 41 64

Physiology Barbara Cannon, Phone:+ 46 8 16 41 20


 

Imaging Facility, IFSU

Zeiss LSM 780

Vacancies