Physico-Chemical Studies on DNA-Protein Interactions

很明显，理解遗传信息传递的机制和控制的关键在于DNA与各种蛋白质的相互作用，包括酶和非酶。DNA复制、转录和重组的每一步都涉及到蛋白质对DNA结构的特异性识别。尽管在过去的几年里，人们已经积累了大量关于dna -蛋白质相互作用的信息，但这些dna结合蛋白识别序列的分子机制仍有待阐明。吴博士将继续研究DNA结合蛋白在基因表达中的分子机制和功能作用。重点将放在(1)RNA聚合酶和其他调节蛋白对天然DNA上特定位点的识别的结构和动态方面，以及(2)影响基因表达操作和调节的因素。

It has become apparant that the key to understanding the mechanism and control of genetic information transfer resides on the interactions of DNA with various proteins, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic. Specific recognitions of DNA structure by proteins are involved at every step of DNA replication, transcription and recombination. Although a tremendous amount of information on DNA-protein interactions has accumulated over the past several years, the molecular mechanisms of the sequence recognition by these DNA-binding proteins still remain to be elucidated. Dr. Wu will continue to investigate the molecular mechansims and functional roles of DNA binding proteins in gene expression. Specific emphasis will be placed on (1) both structural and dynamic aspects of the recognition of specific sites on native DNA by RNA polymerase and other regulatory proteins and (2) the factors that affect the operation and regulation of gene expression.