Structural and Computational Biology
The Structural and Computational Biology Unit pursues an ambitious research programme in integrated structural systems biology. A wide spectrum of expertise allows the unit to tackle problems at different ranges of resolution, connecting atomic structures and dynamic information obtained by X-ray crystallography, NMR with medium-range resolution from single particle electron microscopy, and cellular imaging obtained by EM tomography and light microscopy. Biochemistry, chemical biology, single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and computational biology complement the structural biology activities and integrate them into a comprehensive description of biological function.
Within the unit, there is a continuing interplay between the different groups with expertise in different methodologies, reflecting the belief that a combination of structural and functional studies is the most rewarding route to an understanding of the molecular basis of biological function, and that computational biology is essential to integrate the variety of tools and heterogeneous data into a comprehensive spatial and temporal description of biological processes. In this way, groups in the Structural and Computational Biology Unit pursue a few common large projects that require the input of different skill sets. Examples are the structural determination or modelling of a large number of protein complexes in yeast (in the context of a large EU grant) and the comprehensive structural and temporal description of an entire cell at almost molecular resolution by applying various ‘omics’ approaches to a small bacterium, by characterising its dynamic protein organisation and merging this molecular information to cellular, high resolution tomograms.
Currently, the unit consists of twelve research groups with broad methodological experience. It covers electron microscopy (three groups), X-ray crystallography (two groups), NMR (one group), chemical biology (two groups) and computational biology (two groups and two teams). In addition, two groups based in different units have shared appointments with the unit (the Ladurner group, Gene Expression (page 39) and the Nédélec group, Cell Biology (page 17)).
The unit is very well equipped for experimental and computational work. Experimental facilities include a rotating anode and image plate detector for the collection of X-ray diffraction data, crystallisation robot and automated crystal visualisation, 800 MHz, 600 MHz and 500 MHz NMR spectrometers, several transmission electron microscopes and scanning micro-densitometers. There are also facilities for electron cryo-microscopy, cryo-3D tomography, light microscopy, CD and analytical ultracentrifugation, aswell as for large scale growth of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The whole computing environment of large central clusters and separate workstations is conveniently networked.
Peer Bork and Christoph Müller
Joint Heads of Unit, Structural and Computational Biology Unit