Biological physics of protein clustering in epigenetic memory and transcriptional control
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Mark Leake (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Miller HL
(2020)
Biophysical characterisation of DNA origami nanostructures reveals inaccessibility to intercalation binding sites.
in Nanotechnology
Shashkova S
(2021)
Correlating single-molecule characteristics of the yeast aquaglyceroporin Fps1 with environmental perturbations directly in living cells.
in Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
Yoshua SB
(2021)
Integration host factor bends and bridges DNA in a multiplicity of binding modes with varying specificity.
in Nucleic acids research
Dresser L
(2021)
Amyloid-ß oligomerization monitored by single-molecule stepwise photobleaching.
in Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
Jin X
(2021)
Membraneless organelles formed by liquid-liquid phase separation increase bacterial fitness.
in Science advances
Description | We developed a new type of light microscopy to allow us to track key proteins in root tips that are involved in regulating whether or not plants flower (a process called vernalization). We have found clear evidence that two of these proteins called Vin3 and Vrn5 operate in clusters of typically 5-20 molecules. This ties in really well with theory modeling that suggested that a "memory" effect for this type of flowering regulation must be due to their being multiple copies of the memory elements. These findings may tell us how general gene memory modifications (so called "epigenetics") are regulated in multiple different organisms, including increasing our understanding of the onset of human diseases such as cancer. |
Exploitation Route | This work will offer new insights into researchers studying how genes are regulated in living cell. It will also inform researchers who wish to understand how genetic disease start, and how they might be prevented. |
Sectors | Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
URL | https://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/mark-leake-group/home |