Seminar by Prof. Arnab Bhattacherjee, School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, JNU on "How Proteins Scan Their Target Sites on DNA?"

07 May 2019
Seminar Room #350
Talk Title : "How Proteins Scan Their Target Sites on DNA?"
Abstract
Interactions between proteins and nucleic acids are ubiquitous and central to the life of cells. The remarkable efficiency and specificity of protein-DNA recognition presents a major theoretical puzzle given the size of the genome, the large number of molecular species in vivo at a given time, and the crowded environment they inhabit. The fast association between proteins and DNA is governed by nonspecific interactions that allow protein sliding along DNA where the protein binds DNA nonspecifically and performs a helical motion when it is placed in the major groove. We have explored using various computational approaches how the in-vivo conditions (for example, crowding in the cell or coverage of DNA by nucleosomes) affect the efficiency of DNA search. In my presentation, I will discuss the molecular features of proteins and of the nucleic acids that allow fast dynamics and high affinity binding on double-stranded DNA.