Single molecule study of cytoskeleton and membrane dynamics

Molecular motors are proteins that convert chemical energy directly into mechanical work in the cell, driving many cellular processes. Given their intrinsic unsynchronous nature, single molecule fluorescence and manipulation techniques are nearly the ultimate tools to understand the mechanisms of molecular motors. I will talk about single molecule fluorescence studies of cytoskeleton associated motors, and their roles in cellular trafficking and membrane shaping of intra-cellular structures.

Probing protein - DNA interaction by single molecule and structural analysis

In proteins, conformational change impacting their function has been well investigated in the past decades, and was named `allosteric effect'. However, in DNA-protein interaction, the concept of DNA conformational change caused by DNA-protein binding will affect another nearby DNA-binding protein has not been well investigated and understood. Combined with structural biology and Single Molecule Assays, we can now probe and study allosteric propagation through DNA which exists as a fundamental property in DNA-protein interaction, and this allosteric effect through DNA can fine tune gene expression. Therefore, DNA conformational changes should be seriously considered and analyzed for DNA -protein interactions in general.