The Molecular Biology Consortium operates beam line 4.2.2 at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, CA. The beam line supports the structural biology research of 52 labs within the consortium in addition to numerous labs from the ALS General User Program. The biochemical research supported in large part by the NIH and other agencies has since 2005 produced 184 PDB entries and 121 publications in peer-reviewed journals. This proposal seeks to upgrade the current 165mm NOIR-1 CCD detector with a larger, state-of-the-art 315mm Quantum 315r system from ADSC. This system includes the CCD detector, one computer for each of the nine modules (for a total of 9), vacuum pumps, power supplies, chillers, and software for integration into beam line 4.2.2. The MBC has made a commitment to this proposal by dedicating all resources necessary to integrate and maintain the equipment into beam line 4.2.2.
The research advanced with the structural data collected at beam line 4.2.2 has direct relevance in understanding the roles that specific macromolecules play in both health and disease. Insights into the actions of molecules in signal transduction, photo-systems, viral infections such as Ebola, and rational drug design have been possible due to the atomic resolution structures obtained so far. The proposed detector system upgrade will support and enhance these ongoing projects and make new, difficult problems tractable and ensure that data collection will never be a bottleneck to the research objectives of our users.
Liu, Wallace H; Roemer, Sarah C; Zhou, Yeyun et al. (2016) The Cac1 subunit of histone chaperone CAF-1 organizes CAF-1-H3/H4 architecture and tetramerizes histones. Elife 5: |