PROPOSAL FOR ACQUISITION OF AN 800MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER

该提案要求支持购买一台800 MHz NMR光谱仪，供加州大学伯克利分校的研究人员用于生物分子结构、功能和动力学研究。主要用户将是Wemmer、Tinoco和Handel教授的小组，他们已经非常活跃地将NMR光谱应用于生物问题。其中包括细菌双组分信号系统NtrC的结构、序列特异性DNA结合配体的设计、I组内含子RNA和雀麦花叶病毒RNA 3'端元件的结构、趋化因子及其相互作用伴侣的结构以及具有重组核心的蛋白质。也有相当数量的二级用户，他们的实验室专注于特定的生物学问题，但他们的系统已经发展到结构研究是合适的，并将促进进一步的生物化学实验。这些用户及其研究领域包括Marqusee教授（蛋白质折叠的自由能景观），诺加莱斯（微管蛋白相互作用和构成转录因子IID的复合物），Bustamante（I组内含子机械解折叠及其与结构特征的关系），柯林斯（端粒酶组分的结构）、Berger（Cdc6和DnaG结构域的结构）和Botchan（E1和E2结构域的结构和相互作用）。

This proposal requests support toward the purchase of an 800 MHz NMR spectrometer that will be used by investigators at the University of California at Berkeley for studies of biomolecular structure, function and dynamics. The principle users will be the groups of Professors Wemmer, Tinoco and Handel, who are already very active in applications of NMR spectroscopy to biological problems. Problems being addressed include the structure of NtrC, a bacterial two-component signaling system, design of sequence specific DNA binding ligands, structures of elements of group I intron RNA and brome mosaic virus RNA 3' end, structures of chemokines and their interacting partners, and proteins with repacked cores. There is also a substantial group of secondary users whose labs are focused on particular biological problems, but have systems which are developed to the point that structural studies are appropriate and would facilitate further biochemical experiments. These users and their areas of research include Professors Marqusee (free energy landscapes for protein folding), Nogales (tubulin interactions, and complexes making up transcription factor IID), Bustamante (group I intron mechanical unfolding and the relationship to structural features), Collins (structures of telomerase components), Berger (structure of Cdc6 and DnaG domains) and Botchan (structure and interactions of E1 and E2 domains).