Structure - Function Relationships in Group Transfer Reactions

该项目的目标是为酶学中的一系列结构和机制问题提供明确的答案。通过使用多种实验方法，Villafranca博士希望对酶催化，特别是结构与功能的关系有更深层次的了解。Villafranca博士将专注于与ATP发生不同类型基团转移反应的酶的研究。首先，将研究CTP合成酶，并对GMP合成酶和丙酮酸磷酸二激酶进行一些额外的研究。通过几种结构和动力学方法，他将研究由这些酶催化的反应的中心酶复合物的性质和相对自由能。探索酶基的特性以及酶促反应中中间体的形成和分解速率将提供一组数据，用于对基团转移反应的催化效率进行机制推断。

The goals of this project are to provide definitive answers to a range of structural and mechanistic questions in enzymology. By using multiple experimental approaches, Dr. Villafranca hopes to reach a deeper level of understanding of enzyme catalysis, especially in the relationship of structure to function. Dr. Villafranca will focus on the study of enzymes that involve different types of group transfer reactions with ATP. Primarily, the enzyme CTP synthetase will be studied with some additional work on GMP synthetase and pyruvate phosphate dikinase. By using several structural and kinetic approaches he will investigate the nature and relative free energies of the central enzyme complexes for the reactions catalyzed by these enzymes. Exploration of the identity of enzymic groups and the rate of formation and breakdown of intermediates in this enzymatic reaction will provide a set of data with which to make mechanistic deductions about the catalytic efficiency of group transfer reactions.