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Prof. Dr. Khaled Selim

Research focus

To ensure efficient CO2 fixation, cyanobacteria evolved a carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCM) to elevate CO2 concentrations around CO2 fixing enzymes (RubisCO and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase [PEPC]) via several uptake systems for active transport of HCO3- (SbtA, BicA and CmpABCD) and CO2 (NDH-I3 and NDH-I4 complexes). 

Our research aims to understanding the molecular and structural mechanisms of HCO3- transporters, their functional link to CO2 fixation by (PEPC and RubisCO), and their regulation by PII signaling proteins. This work will greatly improve our understanding of cyanobacterial CCM and provide a rational basis for designing synthetic strategies to correctly install these enzymes/transporters into other microbes or chloroplast to enhance carbon assimilation pathways.

Most important publications

  1. Zimmer E, Poppitz C, Klahn S, Selim KA (2026) Functional and structural insights into cyanobacterial CO(2) concentrating mechanisms: from compartmentalization to regulation. Plant J 126(5):e70974. doi: 10.1111/tpj.70974.
  2. Haffner M, Enkerlin AM, Mantovani O, Spat P, Macek B, Hagemann M, Forchhammer K, Selim KA (2025) Diurnal rhythm causes metabolic crises in the cyanobacterial mutants of c-di-AMP signaling cascade. iScience 28(9):113261. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113261.
  3. Selim KA, Haffner M, Mantovani O, Albrecht R, Zhu H, Hagemann M, Forchhammer K, Hartmann MD (2023) Carbon signaling protein SbtB possesses atypical redox-regulated apyrase activity to facilitate regulation of bicarbonate transporter SbtA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 120(8):e2205882120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2205882120.
  4. Selim KA, Haffner M, Burkhardt M, Mantovani O, Neumann N, Albrecht R, Seifert R, Kruger L, Stulke J, Hartmann MD, Hagemann M, Forchhammer K (2021) Diurnal metabolic control in cyanobacteria requires perception of second messenger signaling molecule c-di-AMP by the carbon control protein SbtB. Sci Adv 7(50):eabk0568. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abk0568.
  5. Selim KA, Haase F, Hartmann MD, Hagemann M, Forchhammer K (2018) P(II)-like signaling protein SbtB links cAMP sensing with cyanobacterial inorganic carbon response. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115(21):E4861-E4869. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1803790115.
     
Prof. Dr. Khaled Selim
Prof. Dr. Khaled Selim

Telephone+49 2118111529

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Institute of Phototrophic Microbiology
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

https://www.phototrophic-microbiology.hhu.de/en/