Proteins are the functional entities in all cells. They are synthesized on large molecular machines, called ribosomes. Ribosomes themselves consist of 78 proteins and 4 RNAs, incorporated into large particles. Cellular function depends on ribosome accurately translating the information contained in the genetic code into proteins. This, in turn, requires the correct assembly of ribosomes. One way in which correct ribosome synthesis is achieved is by ordering steps, so that a later step depends on the prior steps being accurate. This project investigates how a regulatory protein, called Bms1, uses energy to regulate and order essential steps in ribosome assembly. These questions will be addressed in a combination of biochemical, kinetic and genetic experiments. Insights garnered from this work will also have implications for other cellular processes that involve the dynamic assembly of RNA-protein complexes, including pre-mRNA splicing and RNAi.
Broader Impact Faculty members at large universities have two important, sometimes competing, missions in educating young scientists. Class-room teaching is meant to convey already established knowledge to undergraduate and graduate students, while young scientists are raised and educated in the lab. Many graduate students at the University of Michigan have a strong interest in teaching careers, which makes it important to connect these two missions by raising excellent scientists that are also well-trained as teachers. The educational part of the project will develop a lecture series called Scientific Discovery. This lecture series will introduce undergraduate students to cutting edge research, both to help them make the connection between lab and textbook, but also to spark their interest in science. This lecture series is specifically designed to involve senior graduate students and postdocs in teaching at the undergraduate level (not just via Graduate Student Instructor positions). Furthermore, the new Techniques in Biochemistry Lab Course will introduce the web-based enzymology teaching tool webZyme. This novel instrument will give students the opportunity to "perform experiments" that they would normally not be able to do, and introduce the Graduate Student Instructor to this exciting new tool. It is expected that a virtual enzymology lab might be especially valuable in the small undergraduate institutions that many of our students have identified as their "ideal" future employers, thus enhancing their job prospects as well as their effectiveness as future teachers.
