Multum in Parvo: Mechanisms of Phage Derived Protein Antibiotics
WISeR, RockOut, & RiSi Sponsored Friday Lecture
Event Details
- Type
- Friday Lecture Series
- Speaker(s)
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Bil Clemons, Ph.D., Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor, department of biochemistry, California Institute of Technology
- Speaker bio(s)
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The simplest phage-mediated bacterial cell lysis mechanisms are the single gene lysis (Sgl) proteins, exemplified by Protein E from ΦX174. This 91-amino acid peptide inhibits MraY, an essential enzyme in peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Using cryo-EM, the Clemons Lab revealed that Protein E forms an inhibitory complex with E. coli MraY and the chaperone SlyD by blocking the active site of MraY. The lab has continued to solve novel Sgl complexes targeting additional peptidoglycan biosynthesis components. This work suggests potential strategies for addressing antimicrobial drug resistance.
Bil Clemons, Caltech's Hanisch Memorial Professor of Biochemistry, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Utah and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, working with Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan on the structure of the small ribosomal subunit. After postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School, he established his Caltech research group in 2005, focusing on membrane protein structural biology. A recipient of the NIH Pioneer Award, he's a member of the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2023, he also became the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Program Officer for Diversity in Science.
- Open to
- Tri-Institutional