Biosciences News

A Berkeley Lab-led team of researchers used multiple high-powered X-ray techniques at the Advanced Light Source to image the process in E. coli bacteria at the micro-, meso-, and nanoscales. The imaging technique they developed enabled them to visualize the bacteria’s chromosome at higher resolutions than ever before, and without the need for labeling, which slows down the process but is required by most other techniques.

James Holton, a faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Bioimaging (MBIB) Division and full adjunct professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is the 2020 recipient of the American Crystallographic Association’s David J. Rognlie Award.

Robert Bertrand, postdoctoral researcher at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal for highest academic achievement in coursework for a doctoral degree from the University of Manitoba. The Gold Medal is awarded to the student who achieves the highest academic standing at the graduate level. 

Lysine is an important amino acid that must be supplied in our diets, as our bodies can’t produce lysine on their own. Most cereal grains have low levels of lysine, and scientists have worked to breed crops with higher lysine levels. 

However, the biochemical processes that break down lysine in plants weren’t fully understood. New Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) research, published in Nature Communications, reveals this last missing step of lysine catabolism. 

Biosciences Area researchers and their collaborators have determined how a protein called XPG binds to and reshapes damaged DNA, illuminating its role in averting genetic disease and cancer.