[MOS] November 4, 2014, Ibrahhim Cisse, MIT

[Zina M Queen]

Seminar on

Modern Optics and Spectroscopy
Organization and dynamics of transcription at the molecular resolution in living cells

Ibrahim Cissé,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
One of the most exciting developments in molecular biology in the last decade has been the ability to look at singlebiomolecules and bring to light the intricate mechanisms by which they carry out their function in the cell.  Specifically, stochastic behaviours and heterogeneities which previously remained buried in ensemble averaging, have now become evident with single-molecule techniques, and believed to be inherent to the mechanisms of regulating protein complex formation in vivo. In high order organisms, like humans, many important enzymes rely on high copy numbers and local crowding to facilitate and regulate their functions. These enzymes, pertaining to a class of so called ‘weak and transient’ interactions, typically present too significant a background noise for direct visualization, and require unconventional single-molecule approaches.  In this seminar, I will discuss our recent efforts in capturing cooperative behaviours that emerge in live mammalian cells during transcription, the first step in the central dogma of molecular biology when genetic information in DNA is copied into a messenger RNA.
Grier Room, MIT Bldg 34-401
Refreshments served after the lecture
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