Protein Choreography of the Molecular Compass. PhD in Biosciences. (BBSRC SWBio DTP) 4268

分子罗盘的蛋白质编排。

• 批准号: 2717616
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2717616
• 关键词: Protein; Choreography; Molecular; Compass.; PhD

Birds, fruit flies and many other animals are equipped with the remarkable ability to sense the Earth's magnetic field by means of a biochemical reaction in cryptochrome proteins. Surprisingly, this protein molecular compass utilises truly quantum effects to respond to changes in the magnetic field as the animal navigates. The molecular basis of how these proteins structurally reconfigure in response to planetary magnetic fields, transduced by quantum effects on single electrons, is unknown. In migratory songbirds, such as the European robin, Cryptochrome 4 (Cry4) is the protein identified to correlate with magnetosensation. Photoreduction of Cry4 has been shown to be sensitive to magnetic fields in vitro. Yet, little is known about the structure of Cry4 and which conformational changes transduce the geomagnetic field. Here, we will aim to decipher the inner workings of Cry4 protein as the molecular transducer of our planet's magnetic field by migratory birds. You will learn a variety of cutting-edge and highly transferable biophysical and computational tools and techniques. This studentship will provide a rare opportunity to become an expert in hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), using novel prototype instrumentation developed by the Phillips lab at The Living Systems Institute, Univ. Exeter. You will make millisecond time-resolved measurements of the protein structural dynamics under magnetic stimulation. You will then use these experimental results to seed molecular dynamics simulations (Mulholland Group, Univ. Bristol) and combine this with quantum mechanics calculations (Kattnig Group, Univ. Exeter). As a result, you will produce an experimentally driven molecular movie of the process of Cry4 functional switching with atomistic resolution.

鸟类、果蝇和许多其他动物都具有通过隐花色素蛋白的生化反应来感知地球磁场的非凡能力。令人惊讶的是，这种蛋白质分子罗盘利用真正的量子效应来响应动物导航时磁场的变化。这些蛋白质如何响应行星磁场（通过单电子的量子效应转换）而进行结构重构的分子基础尚不清楚。在欧洲知更鸟等迁徙鸣禽中，隐花色素 4 (Cry4) 是一种与磁感应相关的蛋白质。 Cry4 的光还原已被证明对体外磁场敏感。然而，人们对 Cry4 的结构以及哪些构象变化能够传导地磁场知之甚少。在这里，我们的目标是破译 Cry4 蛋白作为候鸟地球磁场分子传感器的内部运作原理。您将学习各种尖端且高度可转移的生物物理和计算工具和技术。该奖学金将为成为氢/氘交换质谱 (HDX-MS) 专家提供难得的机会，使用由美国大学生命系统研究所菲利普斯实验室开发的新型原型仪器。埃克塞特。您将对磁刺激下的蛋白质结构动力学进行毫秒时间分辨测量。然后，您将使用这些实验结果来进行分子动力学模拟（Mulholland Group，布里斯托尔大学），并将其与量子力学计算（Kattnig Group，埃克塞特大学）相结合。因此，您将制作一部以原子分辨率实验驱动的 Cry4 功能切换过程的分子电影。