Associate Professor, PhD (Princeton)
william.zerges@concordia.ca
Visit lab site
Teaching
Cell Physiology
Advanced Genetics
Research Interests
We are investigating cell biological processes in the chloroplast of
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This unicellular green alga is a popular model organism for research of chloroplast biogenesis and photosynthesis. We have identified two novel chloroplast compartments with intriguingly similarities to the endoplasmic reticulum and stress granules.
Another project is studying translational control in the chloroplast.
Recent Publications
Bohne, A.-V., Schwarz, C., Schottkowski, M., Lidschreiber, M., Piotrowski, M., Zerges, W. and Nickelsen, J. (2013). Reciprocal regulation of protein synthesis and carbon metabolism for thylakoid membrane biogenesis. PLoS Biol. I (in press).
B. L. Weis, E. Schleiff, and W. Zerges (2013) Protein targeting to subcellular organelles via mRNA localization. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research 1833; 260-273
M. Schottkowski, M. Peters, Yu Zhan, O. Rifai, Y. Zhang, and W. Zerges (2012) Biogenic membranes of the chloroplast in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109(47):19286-19291.
Hutchins, C.M, Simon, DF, Zerges, W. and K J Wilkinson (2010) Transcriptomic signatures in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as Cd biomarkers in metal mixtures. Aquatic Toxicology 100(1):120-7.Uniacke, J. and W. Zerges. Chloroplast Protein Targeting Involves Localized Translation in Chlamydomonas (2009) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 106 (5) 1439-1444
James Uniacke and William Zerges. 2008. Stress induces the assembly of RNA
granules in the chloroplast of
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Journal of Cell
Biology 182: 641-646.
Simon, D.F., Descombes, P., Zerges, W., and Wilkinson, K.J. 2008. Global
expression profiling of
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exposed to trace levels of
free cadmium. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 27, No. 8, pp.
1668-1675.
James Uniacke and William Zerges. 2007. Photosystem II assembly and repair
a differentially localized in
Chlamydomonas. The Plant Cell, 19: 3640-54.
Zerges, W., Auchincloss A., and J-D Rochaix. 2003. Multiple translational
control sequences in the 5' leader of the chloroplast psbC mRNA interact
with nuclear gene products in
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Genetics,
163(3): 895-904.
Zerges W., Wang S., and J.-D. Rochaix. 2002. Light activates binding of
membrane proteins to chloroplast RNAs in
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Plant
Molecular Biology, 50(3): 573-85
Auchincloss A., Zerges W., Perron, K., Girard-Bascou and J-D Rochaix. 2002.
Characterization of Tbc2, a nucleus-encoded factor specifically required for
translation of the chloroplast psbC mRNA in
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
Journal of Cell Biology, 157(6): 953-62.
Zerges, W. and J. D. Rochaix. 1998. Low-Density membranes are associated
with RNA-binding proteins and thylakoids in the chloroplast of
Chlamydomonas
reinhardtii. Journal of Cell Biology 140: 101-110.
Zerges, W., J. Girard-Bascou, and J. D. Rochaix. 1997. Translation of the
chloroplast psbC mRNA is controlled by interactions between its 5' leader
and the nuclear loci TBC1 and TBC3 in
Chlamydomonas. Molecular and Cellular
Biology 17: 3440-3448.
Stampacchia, O., J. Girard-Bascou, J.L. Zanasco, W. Zerges, P. Bennoun and
J.D. Rochaix. 1997. A nuclear-encoded function essential for translation of
the chloroplastic psaB mRNA in
Chlamydomonas. The Plant Cell 9: 773-782.
Zerges, W. and J. D. Rochaix. 1994. The 5' leader of a chloroplast mRNA
mediates the translational requirements for two nucleus-encoded functions in
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Molecular and Cellular Biology 14: 5268-5277.
Book Chapters and Review Articles
William Zerges and Charles Hauser. 2008. Translation - Protein Synthesis.
The
Chlamydomonas Sourcebook, Volume 2. Elsevier Academic Publishers. (in
press).
Zerges W. 2006. Translation in Chloroplasts. In: Understanding
Chloroplasts. Hoober J.K. (ed.), Henry Stewart Talks Ltd., London.
Zerges, W. 2005. Regulation of Translation in Chloroplasts: By Light and
for Protein Complex Assembly. In Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of
Plant Organelles Edited by Henry Daniell & Christine Chase, Kluwer Academic
Publishers. 347-384.
Zerges, W. 2002. Does Complexity Constrain Organelle Evolution? Trends in
Plant Science, 7(4): 175-182
Zerges, W. 2000. Translation in chloroplasts Biochimie 82; 583-601.
