Biological Physics / iPoLS / STC-QCB Seminar: HyeongJun Kim (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) "Single-molecule studies of DNA-binding proteins and caveats"
- Event Type
- Lecture
- Sponsor
- Physics Department
- Location
- 3269 Beckman Institute (3rd floor tower room).
- Date
- Aug 30, 2023 2:00 pm
- Speaker
- HyeongJun Kim
- Contact
- Sharlene Denos
- denos@illinois.edu
- Phone
- 217-244-0672
- Views
- 50
- Originating Calendar
- Physics - Biological Physics / iPoLS / STC-QCB Seminar
Single-molecule techniques are powerful tools in studying functions of biological entities by investigating individual molecules. In this talk, I would like to discuss how single-molecule DNA flow-stretching assay can help elucidating underlying working mechanisms of DNA-binding proteins using ParB protein as an example.
ParB proteins play a crucial role in low-copy-number plasmid and chromosome partitioning and segregation in bacteria. They bind to specific DNA sequences called parS with a high affinity, but ParB proteins associate with 10-20 kb region encompassing parS, a phenomenon termed spreading. Recent paradigm-shifting discoveries revealed that ParB protein is a novel enzyme that utilizes cytidine triphosphate (CTP) to modulate its functions. We employed single-molecule techniques to elucidate roles of CTP and found that CTP prevents random recruitments of BsParB proteins. If time permits, I will discuss our surprising finding that a small KCK-tag that is commonly used in fluorescent dye labeling on a protein leads to unexpected artifacts.