Section on Protein Biosynthesis

Head: Thomas E. Dever

Research in this Unit is focused on understanding translational regulatory mechanisms and the molecular details of the initiation of protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. We are particularly interested in the gene-specific and general translational control in the yeast S. cerevisiae through phosphorylation of the translation factor eIF2a by both yeast and mammalian kinases. Molecular genetic and biochemical methods are being employed to study the mechanism of substrate recognition by the eIF2a protein kinases. We are also characterizing viral and cellular regulators of the eIF2a kinases in an effort to understand, at the molecular level, how these kinases regulate translation initiation and how the activities of the kinases can be modulated in response to environmental or developmental cues. We are also studying the yeast FUN12 protein, which shares striking homology with the prokaryotic translation factor IF2, and we have found that FUN12 functions in translation initiation along with eIF2 to deliver the initiator Met-tRNA to the ribosome.

Resources

• Employee Listing
• E-Mail the Lab: tdever@box-t.nih.gov
• SPB Home Page