Targeting of function and structure of Arabidopsis dicing complex proteoforms on microRNA biogenesis
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a central role in the modulation of plant development and stress response. They are processed from primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs) by a dicing complex, with DICER-like protein (DCL1) forming the catalytic core together with accessory factors HYPERACTIVE LEAVES 1 (HYL1) and SERRATE (SE). Within the range of accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) cause a variety of DCL1 proteoforms, The in vivo roles of these proteoforms and their activities will be subjects for further investigation in this project. We will define the effect of these variants in miRNA production from different Arabidopsis accessions and analyze its binding and activity with proteins and RNAs. We further examine the structural changes of the DCL1 proteoforms. Furthermore, we intend to design de novo DCL1 proteins with activities tailor-made using computational design, including AI models. These engineered proteins will be tested in vitro and in vivo to gain structural and functional insight into the miRNA biosynthesis mechanism. The research may provide an optimized design of proteins that are relevant to RNA processing and may open up means to broad understanding and potential manipulation for miRNA biogenesis in plants.
Free positions in A05
PhD position, TV-L E13, 65% – Plant Expertise
TASKS // Analysis of microRNA expression in Arabidopsis accession, Cloning expression constructs followed by protein expression in tobacco, In vitro reconstitution of microRNA processing complexes and activity assays
WORK PLACE // Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology
PI // Sascha Laubinger
Job advertisement // Reg.-Nr. 5-5505/24-D
PhD position, TV-L E13, 65% – Computer Science Expertise & Protein Expertise
TASKS // Computational design of interactions between protein and RNA/DNA uing artificial intelligence and structure-based design, Expressing and testing designed proteins in bacterial, insect and mammalian cell cultures, Evalution of designed proteins using protein-DNA/RNA-binding assays and together with the project
WORK PLACE // Leipzig University, Institute for Drug Discovery
PI // Clara T. Schoeder
Job advertisement // [RegNr. *]
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