Decoding nucleosome remodeling: molecular structures and single-molecule dynamics

Speaker: Sebastian Deindl (Universität Tübingen)

Host: Andreas Peschel (CMFI)

Date & Time: 26.11.2026 | 12:30–15:30 p. m.

Venue: Lecture Hall 3M07, GUZ Building, Schnarrenbergstraße 94-96, 72076 Tübingen

Public Event. No registration needed and everyone welcome. The talks are followed by a reception in the GUZ entrance hall.

Abstract:

Access to our genetic information depends on molecular machines that reorganize its packaging. ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers move nucleosomes to expose DNA, yet how these machines are controlled and how they coordinate DNA movement remain fundamental questions. In this talk, I will show how we combine cryo-electron microscopy, single-molecule fluorescence, and method development to uncover the molecular choreography of nucleosome remodeling. Focusing first on the DNA-damage-responsive remodeler ALC1, I will discuss how structural and single-molecule FRET studies together reveal how damage signals activate remodeling and direct nucleosome movement. I will then turn to the prototypical chromatin remodeler CHD1 and introduce new multicolor single-molecule FRET approaches we have developed to follow DNA movement at multiple positions within individual nucleosomes, revealing how remodeling unfolds in real time. Finally, I will present MUSCLE, a versatile method that brings large numbers of distinct samples - for example, differing in sequence - into the same single-molecule experiment, opening the door to systematic exploration of molecular interactions and dynamics at an unprecedented scale.

Flash Talk:

Thales Kronenberger (CMFI) - Molecular simulations to understand transmembrane protein dynamics