CPLC Faculty Sangjin Kim Gives the Physics Colloquium on Feb 12th at 4pm in 141 Loomis

 Please join us for the Physics Colloquium TODAY, February 12 at 4:00 pm in 141 Loomis.

The colloquium will be presented by Sangjin Kim, Assistant Professor of Biological Physics at the University of Illinois. The title of her presentation is “Connecting the missing dots between motor traffic and topology in the genome”.

Abstract: Life is defined by base sequences of DNA, a polymer that carries information on how to make proteins—a building block and a functional unit within living cells. As a first step toward making proteins, DNA is read by processive molecular motors, called RNA polymerases (RNAPs). For example, Escherichia coli, a bacterial model organism, has a genomic DNA of about four million bases, and a few hundreds of RNAPs (each covering about 30 bases) can be detected somewhere on the genome at a given time, creating a situation like cars on the highway. While the dynamics of this molecular traffic is important in understanding the structure and function of the genome, we still lack a clear understanding of how even a few RNAPs work in the genomic context. Experimental results suggested that RNAPs can exhibit collective group dynamics by exploiting dynamic changes in DNA topology. In this talk, I will describe our current understanding of RNAP dynamics in connection with the dynamics of DNA topology. I will also present my current experimental and theoretical efforts to make a complete model explaining the emergence of RNAP group dynamics in the genomic context.

Refreshments will be available at 3:30 pm outside room 141 Loomis.