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PhD Research Project: Single-molecule fluorescence study of bacterial chromosome segregation dynami

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
United Kingdom
Closing date
Aug 1, 2016

Job Details

Details

Cell division is a process of fundamental importance in all forms of life. During cell division, DNA must be properly segregated into each daughter cell. The aim of this project is to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underpinning bacterial chromosome segregation.

The process of division in bacterial chromosomes is regulated by the Par (partition) proteins, which bind to DNA. Recent advances in fluorescence microscopy have revealed that bacterial chromosomes are highly organized and segregate with distinctive patterns in the cell; low copy number plasmid partitioning is driven by protein patterns. In this project, model systems consisting of nanopatterned arrays of biomolecules will be formed using lithographic techniques developed in Sheffield, and used as “workbenches” on which to study the spatiotempral dynamics of the partition proteins of the Par system from Vibrio cholerae and how they are involved in driving chromosome movement and positioning. The project combines multidisciplinary approaches including biochemistry, single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and bionanotechnology to visualize the chromosome segregation proteins on synthetic surfaces in a cell-free system.

The project is especially well suited to Chemical Biology graduates, but applications are invited from graduates in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Keywords: chemical biology, biochemistry, physical chemistry, biophysics, single-molecule microscopy, bionanotechnology.

Supervisors: Dr. Ling Chin Hwang (Dept. of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology) and Prof. Graham Leggett (Dept. of Chemistry)

For further information, contact Dr. Ling Chin Hwang l.hwang@sheffield.ac.uk or Prof Graham Leggett Graham.Leggett@sheffield.ac.uk

http://www.shef.ac.uk/mbb/staff/hwang
http://www.imagine-imaginglife.com/
http://www.leggett.group.shef.ac.uk

Funding Notes

This studentship commences on October 2016 and provides 3.5 years’ funding, including fees and RCUK stipend. EPSRC rules restrict eligibility to home students or EU students who have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years. Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, a minimum of an upper-second-class Honours degree (2.1 or above) in a relevant subject.

References

1. Hwang LC, Vecchiarelli AG, Han YW, Mizuuchi M, Harada Y, Funnell BE, Mizuuchi K (2013) ParA-mediated plasmid partition driven by protein pattern self-organization. EMBO J 32, 1238-1249.

2. Vecchiarelli AG, Hwang LC, Mizuuchi K (2013) Cell-free study of F plasmid partition provides evidence for cargo transport by a diffusion-ratchet mechanism. PNAS 110, E1390- 1397

3. Ul-Haq, E.; Patole, S.; Moxey, M.; Amstad, E.; Vasilev, C.; Hunter, C. N.; Leggett, G. J.; Spencer, N. D.; Williams, N. H. (2013) Photocatalytic Nanolithography of Self-Assembled Monolayers and Proteins. ACS Nano 7, 7610-7618.

4. Moxey, M.; Johnson, A.; El-Zubir, O.; Cartron, M.; Dinachali, S. S.; Hunter, C. N.; Saifullah, M. S. M.; Chong, K. S. L.; Leggett, G. J. (2015) Fabrication of Self-Cleaning, Reusable Titania Templates for Nanometer and Micrometer Scale Protein Patterning. ACS Nano 9, 6262-6270.

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