Hidden dynamics in the unfolding of individual membrane proteins

报告题目：Hidden dynamics in the unfolding of individual membrane proteins

报告人：余昊教授  华中科技大学

报告时间：2018年10月19日（星期五）10：00 a.m.

报告地点：物理科技楼409

报告邀请人：元冰

报告摘要：Elucidating the energetics and dynamics of membrane proteins in their native lipid bilayer remains an ongoing challenge. An oversimplified view of the folding process emerges when transiently populated states are undetected because of limited instrumental resolution. This talk details how we uncover previously obscured dynamics of membrane proteins by high resolution force spectroscopy. The technique delivered a 100-fold improvement over earlier studies. Numerous newly detected intermediate states—many separated by as few as 2–3 amino acids with occupancies <10 µs—suggest a strikingly complex, dynamic folding network of bacteriorhodopsin. We further developed a site-specific bioconjugation protocol between the force probe and membrane proteins, allowing the earliest unfolding events of bR to be resolved. These results sharpen the picture of the mechanical unfolding of membrane proteins and, more broadly, enable experimental access to previously obscured protein dynamics.

报告人简介：余昊，2007年本科毕业于中国科学技术大学，2013年于加拿大University of Alberta获得物理学博士学位，2014至2017年在美国University of Colorado Boulder分校JILA研究所从事博士后研究。2017年起任华中科技大学物理学院教授。目前主要研究兴趣为发展先进的单分子力谱手段进行生物大分子动力学的实验研究，通过力学方法研究生物分子结构转变过程，以理解膜蛋白折叠、错误折叠与疾病、RNA结构与功能、分子机器工作原理等问