Join us for a one-hour talk presented by Professor Rama Ranganathan, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL titled:
Evolutionary Principles of Protein Structure and Function
ABSTRACT Proteins can fold spontaneously into well-defined three-dimensional structures and can carry out complex biochemical reactions such as binding, catalysis, and long-range information transfer. The precision required for these properties is achieved while also preserving evolvability – the capacity to adapt in response to fluctuating selection pressures in the environment. What is the basic design of proteins that supports all of these properties? Recent work suggests that rather than direct physical analysis, statistical analysis of genome sequences provides a powerful and general approach to this problem. Using different methodologies, this approach has revealed both direct structural contacts as well as collective functional modes within protein structures. In this talk, I will present new approaches for probing the physical mechanisms implied by the evolution-based models and present ideas for how such mechanisms are constrained by the dynamics of the evolutionary process. This work represents a step towards a theory for the physics of proteins that is consistent with evolution.
This seminar will be presented via Zoom, the broadcast can also be viewed in the ASRC 5th Floor Data Visualization Room, #5.210.
To join these ongoing events via Zoom, please use the link below:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 495 404 8198
For more information about this hybrid event please contact:
Hyacinth Camillieri
hcamillieri@gc.cuny.edu