Adelman, J.L, et al. (2006) Molecular Cell 22(5):611-621 :: Rho is a ring-shaped hexameric motor protein that translocates along nascent mRNA transcript and terminates transcription of select genes in bacteria. Using a numerical optimization algorithm that simultaneously fits all of the presteady-state ATPase kinetic data, we determine how Rho utilizes the chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis to translocate RNA. Read more. . .

I am funded by the DOE’s Computational Science Graduate Fellowship and one of the great perks of the program is the annual Fellows’ Conference , held in Washington, DC which allows this rather eclectic group to present their research in a highly interdisciplinary setting. This year I presented my preliminary work on modeling DNA Translocases which is a collaborative project with Andrew Spakowitz and members of the Bustamante Lab. Investigating the mechanochemistry of motor proteins by developing simple coarse-grained models is an ongoing theme in my research. This work extends the pure kinetic modeling used in my previous work to couple the conformational dynamics of the protein to the chemical cycle of individual subunits in order to elucidate the effects of external force on the protein’s behavior.

The June 23rd issue of Molecular Cell contains a ‘preview’ by John Richardson of the Mechanochemistry of Transcription Termination Factor Rho, highlighting our experimental and modeling efforts.