Page 42 - Hormel Institute Annual Report 2021-22

Bin Liu, PhD
“Transcription is the central step in the expression of genes, and a major mechanism for controlling the expression of a gene is to regulate its tran- scription. Transcription is regulated by various transcription factors. Many human diseases and disorders are associated with misregulation of transcription and mutations of transcription factors, including cancer, autoimmunity, neuro- logical disorders, developmental disorders,
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.”
Bin Liu
42 | THE HORMEL INSTITUTE // UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Transcription and Gene Regulation
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Our overall goal is to provide a structural basis of the initiation, elongation and termination of transcription and their
regulations in bacteria. We shall study the for- mation of the transcription initiation complexes with various sigma factors, the transition from initiation to elongation and termination phases, the translocation of the RNA polymerase (RNAP) on template DNA, and the regulation of the RNAP by transcription factors at various stages of transcription. In the meantime, we are also working on the structural and mechanistic study of macromolecular complexes in SARS-CoV-2 to lead the way for discovering novel and effective antiviral strategies.
To understand the molecular basis for the regulation of transcription elongation by ATPases
RNAP translocation is mediated by ATPases, which would significantly function when transcription is stalled during transcription elongation, however, their mechanisms are not fully understood. To understand how ATPases regulate transcription reactivation, termination, and transcription-associated DNA repair, we shall attempt to obtain structures of the RNAP elongation complexes in association with RapA and other ATPases, such as mfd and UvrD. We shall try to assemble those complexes and determine their cryo-EM structures.
Dr. Bin Liu, Ms. Fan Bu, Dr. Dmytro Kompaniiets