Speaker: Prof. Aditi Borkar
Assistant Professor in Molecular Biochemistry and
Biochemistry at University of Nottingham, UK
Title: "From Ice to Insight: Cryo-OrbiSIMS enables
integrative modelling of RNA at atomic resolution."
Day and Date: Tuesday, August 06, 2024
Time: 4.00 PM.
Venue: Room no. 350, Chemistry Department
Second floor, Annex
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Hosted by Prof. Ruchi Anand
Abstract RNAs are one of the most challenging systems to study using
conventional structural biology techniques. To address this challenge, we
recently pioneered the use of cryogenic OrbiSIMS mass spectroscopy data in
RNA folding and structure refinement algorithms to model native structures
with atomic precision (Ward et al. 2024 Nat Comms). Through rigorous
benchmarking against the existing high-resolution structures of
prototypical systems available in the PDB, we have also thoroughly
evaluated the accuracy, reliability, and limitations of our technique.
Going beyond method development, by utilising the 7SK RNP as a test case,
we have successfully unravelled the complete 3D structure of this native
RNA in its apo and protein-bound forms, as well as in its
disease-remodelled state. This comprehensive analysis provides
unprecedented insights into the structural dynamics and interactions of
the 7SK complex, with potential implications for understanding disease
mechanisms.
Bio: Aditi Borkar is an Assistant Professor in Molecular Biochemistry and
Biochemistry at University of Nottingham, UK, where she is pioneering the
study of structure and dynamics of native RNP complexes at atomic
resolution. While her focus is on HIV pathogenesis as a model, her
research also encompass other RNA viruses like Arenaviruses and RNA
misfolding diseases such as Muscular Dystrophy. Aditi’s expertise spans
a range of techniques, including integrated biophysics, cryo-Electron
Microscopy, Mass Spectroscopy, and computer simulations, and her team
often engages in innovative method development for RNA structure analysis.
Before coming to Nottingham, Aditi completed her PhD from University of
Cambridge in Structural Biology and continued as a Sir Henry Wellcome
Postdoctoral Fellow between University of Cambridge, UK; University of
Bonn, Germany and Yale University, USA.