Group
Leader: Jordan Gerton
Office:
314 JFB
Phone:
(801) 585-0068
Fax:
(801) 581-4801
E-mail: jgerton@physics.utah.edu
Lab
phone: (801)
581-5078
Lab
address:
INSCC Building
Rm. 134
155 South
1452 East
Salt Lake
City, UT 84112
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Imaging
Biomolecular networks:
In
collaboration with Markus Babst from the Biology department here at the
University of Utah, we are using TEFM to study a particular-membrane
bound protein network called the ESCRT
complex. This protein complex is crucial for the
operation
of normal cells and is additionally hijacked during infection for a
number of pathogens, including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
This important biological question is difficult to address
with
other structural methods such as electron microscopy and x-ray
crystallography.
Since this ESCRT protein complex is functional on endosomal membranes
(organelles inside of cells), we are working to reconstitute this
protein network on lipid-bilayers directly on glass coverslips.
By fluorescently labeling the various proteins within the
network, this process would then allow us bring down the TEFM probe and
determine how each different constituent contributes to the make-up of
the entire network.
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