Download Characterization of head-hunter proteins for exchange of genetic information between cells.

NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering
Research Project Write-up
Title of Project :
Characterization of “head-hunter” proteins for exchange of
genetic information between cells
Name of Supervisor :
Pan Shen Quan
Contact Details:
Tel: (65) 6516-2977; fax: (65) 6779-5671; email:
[email protected]
Short Description
Our laboratory is using microorganisms such as bacterium and yeast cells as research
models to understand some of the fundamental processes that are relevant to
biomedical research.
We have made exciting discoveries in new frontiers, for instances, "headhunter"
proteins for facilitating exchange of DNA between cells. This is a new class of
proteins involved in conjugative DNA transfers.
One graduate student position is available to further explore this exciting discovery.
The details are as follows.
Acquiring new genetic information is a critical way for a cell to adapt to the changing
environment. This is particularly prevalent in bacteria as they exchange DNA
molecules like plasmids at high frequencies; and this is important for bacteria to
acquire resistance to antibiotics. The machinery for such an exchange of genetic
information is highly conserved among bacteria. During evolution, the machinery has
been modified to export other substrates, like DNA and proteins into a wide variety of
organisms, including bacterial and eukaryotic cells. Agrobacterium tumefaciens
VirB/D4 secretion system is an excellent model to illustrate how such machinery
works at the molecular level and how such a natural system can be utilized for genetic
engineering and biotech applications. Recently, we discovered a novel group of
proteins called “recruiting” proteins that recruit the appropriate substrates for the
exchange of genetic information between cells. We now embark a project to
characterize the first recruiting protein. The project will involve various techniques,
including molecular genetics and biochemical approaches. The aim is to find out how
the recruiting protein works.