BBMB Research Seminars

April 28, 2008
Dr. Wei Cheng
California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences"
University of California, Berkeley

"Peeking into the Private Life of Helicase Proteins, One by One"

1414 Molecular Biology Buidling
4:40 p.m.

Abstract:

Recent advances in biophysical techniques have allowed us to study biochemical processes with an unprecedented detail. In this talk, I will use helicase proteins as examples to illustrate how single-molecule techniques allow us to gain critical understanding of the molecular systems under study. In particular, I will focus on the use of optical tweezers as tools to monitor the unfolding of a single RNA molecule by the Hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase. This work allowed us to 'watch' the catalytic action of individual NS3 molecules in real time, and provided a wealth of information about how this motor protein works. Through refinement of optical tweezers technique, I was able to observe the catalytic step of NS3 protein at single base pair resolution.