| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/N19748/01 |
| Title: |
THE OPERATION OF A SMART BIOMOLECULAR MACHINE |
| Principal Investigator: |
Dryden, Dr D |
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| Department: |
Inst of Cell and Molecular Biology |
| Organisation: |
University of Edinburgh |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 September 2000 |
Ends: |
31 May 2004 |
Value (£): |
204,552
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Chemical Biology |
Condensed Matter Physics |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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We wish to formulate physical models of the structural and dynamical basis for molecular recognition and function in a well-characterised protein machine which is capable of performing several alternative operations on its DNA substrate. Our machine is the EcoKI type I DNA restriction enzyme which can choose to either methylate or cleave DNA once it has determined the modification status of its DNA target. The cleavage process involves the movement of thousands of base pairs of DNA past the enzyme using ATP hydrolysis for energy. We propose to create a productive interface between physics and biology by amalgamating biochemical approaches for the analysis of the switching process with novel applications of polymer physics for the analysis of the DNA manipulation and translocation processes. Our principal experimental techniques will be dynamic light scattering of protein-DNA interactions performed in the laboratory of WCK Poon, bioch3emical measurements performed in the PI's laboratory, and spectroscopy from the groups of the PI and J Crain. Theoretical Modelling by J Crain will be used to analyse and generalise the results of spectroscopic measurements. We have validated all of the proposed experimental methods and obtained preliminary results.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ed.ac.uk |