The Israel MX/SAXS BAG

The abstract contains limited description of the BAG due to size limitation. UFM1 (ubiquitin fold modifier 1) is one of the most recent UBLs to be discovered. Protein modification by UFM1 (ufmylation) is essential for the development of different tissues. An increasing body of evidence implicates UFM1 in a wide spectrum of human diseases. However, in spite of its great importance, a gap remains in the basic understanding of the conjugating machinery of UFM1. To that end the Wiener lab studies and continue the study on proteins modification by UFM1. The Akabayev lab will study the time-dependent DNA topological changes induced by gyrase (bacterial Topoisomerase type II) using SAXS. In preliminary experiments topological transitions of DNA formed by gyrase were identified. In another project, they plan to explore the interaction between a small molecule containing phenyl thiazole and an RNA hairpin located within the ribosomal peptidyl transferase center.