MBIB News

A team of scientists from the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division and UC Berkeley has constructed the first complete atomic blueprint of a complicated molecular machine that is crucial to repairing and reading DNA. These protein assemblies, human transcription initiation factor IIH (TFIIH), are essential to survival, yet we know little about how they function because, until recently, it was impossible to accurately describe their structure.

The projects of 13 Biosciences Area scientists and engineers received funding through the FY19 Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program. The funded projects span a diverse array of topics and approaches including the harnessing of microbiome data to uncover patterns of mutualism, evaluating radiobiological effects of laser-accelerated ion beams, improving bioenergy yield under drought stress, and the application of machine learning in tomogram segmentation. Lab-wide, 89 projects were selected from a field of 158 proposals. Biosciences Area efforts account for 15.07 percent of the $22.2 million allocated.

Taking their cue from Nature, Berkeley Lab researchers have engineered living cells to act as a starting point, or “scaffold,” for the self-assembly of composite materials. The resulting engineered living materials (ELMs) represent a new class of material that may open the door to advanced applications in bioelectronics, biosensing, and smart materials.

Leading the effort was Caroline Ajo-Franklin, whose lab is part of the Molecular Foundry, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, and who holds a secondary appointment in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division. A study describing the work was recently published in ACS Synthetic Biology.

Researchers from Biosciences and the Computational Research Division (CRD) have formed a new integrated Computational Biosciences Group to develop tools for addressing a range of scientific problems that cross organizational lines. Members of the group include (pictured, from left): Héctor García Martin of the Biological Systems and Engineering and the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Divisions (BSE/EGSB), acting group lead Kris Bouchard (BSE), Chris Mungall (EGSB), Andrew Tritt of the Computational Research Division(CRD), Oliver Rübel (CRD), and Ben Brown (EGSB). Additional members not pictured are: Aydın Buluç (CRD), Silvia Crivelli (CRD), Hans Johansen (CRD), Talita Perciano (CRD), and Peter Zwart of the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division (MBIB).

Read more on the Computing Sciences website.

During the annual Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function in Australia last month, Ian van Driel of the University of Melbourne (left) presented MBIB senior faculty scientist Eva Nogales (center) with the Grimwade Medal for Biochemistry for “visualizing the molecular dance at the heart of human gene expression.” The award is funded by the Grimwade family, pioneers in Australia’s pharmaceutical industry, of which Sir Andrew Grimwade (right) is a member. While in Australia, Nogales was a guest on the University of Melbourne’s “Eavesdrop on Experts” podcast. She spoke with host Steve Grimwade about using cryo-EM to understand cell behavior at the molecular level.