Using diffraction data obtained at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) and at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), researchers in Biosciences’ Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) division and at UC Berkeley have discovered how CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins are able to recognize their target locations with such great specificity. X-ray crystallography was used to solve the structures of Cas1 and Cas2—responsible for DNA-snippet capture and integration—as they were bound to synthesized DNA strands designed to mimic different stages of the process. The resulting structures show how the system works in its native context as part of a bacterial immune system, and also inform the development of the CRISPR-Cas system as a general-purpose molecular recording device. Jun-Jie Liu, a joint postdoc in the labs of Jennifer Doudna and Eva Nogales, and Addison Wright, a graduate student in Doudna’s lab, were co-first authors on the paper, published in the journal Science. Read more in this ALS Science Highlight.
ABPDU a Catalyst for Broader Bio-based Economy
Five years in, the Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit has established more than 30 diverse partnerships
The original scope of the Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit (ABPDU) was to tackle the barriers to biofuel commercialization. Five years in, its activities have expanded to utilize a broader range of raw materials to produce a variety of bio-based material, chemical, and protein end products. To date, the ABPDU has entered into agreements with more than 30 partners from other national labs, government agencies, industry, and academia. In this article the ABPDU’s partners talk about how this unique facility has supported them in scaling up their processes, and reaching their business goals.
NIH Awards $6.5 Million for Augmenting Structural Biology Research Experience
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $6.5 million to Berkeley Lab to integrate existing synchrotron structural biology resources to better serve researchers. The grant will establish a center based at the Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) called ALS-ENABLE that will guide users through the most appropriate routes for answering their specific biological questions.
Congratulations to Biosciences Area Director’s Award Recipients
Several Biosciences Area personnel are among the 2017 Berkeley Lab Director’s Awards honorees. This annual program recognizes outstanding contributions by employees to all facets of Lab activities. A ceremony honoring all of the 2017 recipients will be held on November 30 in the Building 50 Auditorium.
M-TIP Algorithm Enables New Approach to Imaging Single Biological Particles
As part of an international team, researchers with Berkeley Lab’s Center for Advanced Mathematics for Energy Research Applications (CAMERA) employed their multi-tiered iterative phasing (M-TIP) algorithm to process X-ray free laser (XFEL) data taken from single virus particles and resolve their nanometer-scale structures in 3D. The new approach circumvents several challenges of imaging biomolecules that do not crystallize well, such as the random orientations of particles in solution and the asymmetrical structures of many viruses and proteins. Jeff Donatelli of the Computational Research Division’s Mathematics Group and Peter Zwart and Kanupriya Pande of the Biosciences Area’s Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) division contributed to the work, the results of which were published in Physical Review Letters. Read more from the Berkeley Lab News Center.
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