Investigations of biomolecules by florescence spectroscopy

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Several researchers in the Department of Biochemistry of the Université de Montréal are investigating important biomolecular complexes. These complexes include protein/protein, protein/RNA, protein/DNA, metal/protein, RNA/RNA and protein/ligand complexes. Formation of these complexes is important for a wide variety of biological processes such as transcriptional or translational regulation, neurobiology, RNA processing, glycolysis, viral infection, and cancer. Specific studies include 1) Messenger RNA transport and localization in mammals; 2) Structural investigation of reaction complexes in Schiff-base forming aldolases; 3) Understanding interactions that mediate the incorporation of Selenocysteine into proteins in mammalian cells; 4) Macromolecular interactions regulating the phosphorylation of the carboxyl-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II; 5) Structural investigations of RNA / protein interactions; and 6) Structure function studies of the bacterial mercury detoxification pathway. In order to fully understand the factor governing the formation of these biomolecular complexes, it is crucial to be able to thoroughly characterize the folding and binding properties of these biomolecules.