© Raphael Schleutker

Research Topic

Lipid droplets are ubiquitous organelles that consist of a central compartment composed of neutral lipids surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer that houses the organelle proteome. Lipid droplets fulfil central roles in lipid storage and metabolism. Our group investigates how these key players in lipid handling cooperate with the different cellular membrane systems. To identify novel players in lipid droplet biology, we utilize genome-wide microscopy-based screening approaches in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, combined with classical cell biology, genetics, and biochemistry techniques. Within the Collaborative Research Center, we focus on the interplay of lipid droplets with the plasma membrane during the processes of cell division and cell fusion. Our aim is to uncover the molecular players and mechanisms underlying lipid droplet-plasma membrane communication, and to understand the biological roles of this connection in cellular interplay.

Selected Publications

  • Diep, D.T.V., Collado, J., Hugenroth, M., Fausten, R.M., Percifull ,L., Wälte, M., Schuberth, C., Schmidt, O., Fernández-Busnadiego, R., and Bohnert, M. (2024). A metabolically controlled contact site between vacuoles and lipid droplets in yeast. Dev. Cell 59: 740-758. doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2024.01.016.
  • Herker, E., Vieyres, G., Beller, M., Krahmer, N., and Bohnert, M. (2021). Lipid droplet contact sites in health and disease. Trends Cell Biol. 31: 345-358. doi.org/10.1016/j.tcb.2021.01.004.
  • Chartschenko, E., Hugenroth, M., Akhtar, I., Droste, A., Kolkhof, P., Bohnert, M., and Beller, M. (2021). CG32803 is the fly homolog of LDAF1 and influences lipid storage in vivo. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 133: 103512. doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103512.
  • Castro, I.G., Eisenberg-Bord, M., Persiani, E., Rochford, J.J., Schuldiner, M., and Bohnert, M. (2019). Promethin is a conserved seipin partner protein. Cells 8: E268. doi.org/10.3390/cells8030268.
  • Eisenberg-Bord, M., Mari, M., Weill, U., Rosenfeld-Gur, E., Moldavski, O., Castro, I.G., Soni, K.G., Harpaz, N., Levine, T.P., Futerman, A.H., Reggiori, F., Bankaitis, V.A., Schuldiner, M., and Bohnert, M. (2018). Identification of seipin-linked factors that act as determinants of a lipid droplet subpopulation. J. Cell Biol. 217: 269-282. doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201704122.