Development of Methods in Fiber Diffraction Analysis of Macromolecules

许多大分子暴露在x射线下会产生衍射图样。以前，这些模式用于确定含有小重复部分的分子的分子结构，否则分析仅限于非常低的分辨率。在过去的15年中，首席研究员开发了x射线衍射分析方法（称为纤维衍射分析），以2.9埃的分辨率确定了烟草花叶病毒（TMVB）的分子结构。目前的建议是开发方法，将在TMV研究中使用的技术扩展到其他生物系统。将利用其他病毒、细胞骨架细丝和核蛋白复合物开发方法。

Many macro molecules give rise to diffraction patterns when exposed to X-rays. Previously, these patterns were of use in determining molecular structure of molecules which contain small, repeating portions or else the analysis was limited to very low resolution. Over the lst l5 years, the principal investigator has developed methods of X-ray diffraction analysis (called fiber diffraction analysis) which have determined the molecular structure of the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMVB) at a resolution of 2.9 angstroms. The present proposal is to develop methods to extend the techniques utilized in the TMV study to other biological systems. Methodology will be developed using other viruses, cytoskeletal filaments and nucleoprotein complexes.