Crystallographic studies on molecular motors of the spliceosome (A02)

• Subject Area: Structural Biology
• Term: from 2010 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 105286809

Eight different DExD/H-box ATPases promote the structural and compositional changes required for the assembly, activation and disassembly of the spliceosome. The activities of the DEAH-box proteins Prp2 and Prp43 in the spliceosome are specifically triggered by direct interaction with the intrinsically disordered G-patch domains of the proteins Spp2 and Ntr1, respectively, while Prp22 exhibits a high intrinsic activity. We aim to unravel the structural basis for the stimulation by G-patch domains, as well as the molecular mechanism of RNA unwinding by Prp43 and Prp22.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 860: Integrative Structural Biology of Dynamic Macromolecular Assemblies
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Ralf Ficner