Physics Colloquium, May 8, 2007
Micromechanical study of DNA-protein interactions and chromosome structure John F. Marko

Northwestern University

I will discuss the use of micromechanical assays - essentially measurements of elasticity - as methods to study how DNA is organized by being folded by proteins, ultimately into whole chromosomes. I will discuss studies at three scales of complexity. First, I will present results of single-DNA micromanipulation studies of proteins which compact the chromosome in the bacterium E. coli. Next, I will show how similar techniques can be applied to the study of the dynamics of assembly of chromatin fiber onto a single DNA molecule. Finally I will discuss experiments which probe the internal organization of entire mitotic chromosomes isolated from dividing cells.

Dr. Marko's Web Site

4:00 p.m., Physics Research Building (PRB), Room 1080

Reception at 3:45 p.m., Atrium, PRB