Award Details:
Award Type: Catalyst
Award #: C-075
Proposal Title: Probing the Kinetics of tRNA Recognition by T-box Riboswitch at the Single-molecule Level
PI(s): Jingyi Fei (UChicago) and Alfonso Mondragon (NU)
Award Amount: $250,000.00
Application Cycle: Round 22 (Fall 2016)
Award Start Date: March 1, 2017
Award End Date: February 28, 2019
Abstract:
RNA molecules play many roles in the cell, including as regulatory elements to control gene expression at both transcriptional and translational levels. In bacteria, some RNA elements, termed T-box riboswitches, directly affect protein production by responding to the level and aminoacylation state of tRNA molecules. The regulation involves recognition and binding of one RNA molecule by another RNA molecule concomitant with conformational changes in the RNA molecules. We propose to study the kinetic mechanism of this regulation using single-molecule fluorescence techniques. By monitoring individual riboswitch molecules as they interact with tRNAs, we aim to discern the series of functional steps that lead to regulation. The approach we propose is novel and challenging and promises to provide information that cannot be obtain in other manner and help obtain a more complete vista on the way these important molecules work.