Events

Molecular evolution meets biophysics: the history of the RubisCO enzyme and the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex

February 9, 2016 at 3:00pm/36-428*

Romain Studer
The European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL-EBI)

Ancestral sequence reconstruction allows the inference of a protein’s past characteristics at a particular point during its evolution. The inferred ancestral sequence can be modelled in 3D, assuming a structural template exists. Having ancestral structures allows a better understanding of protein evolution and protein function. Ultimately, the ancestral sequence can be resurrected in vitro by synthesis and purification and its properties can be studied using the standard protocols, used its for modern counterparts. Recent successful studies using ancestral sequence reconstruction have focused on old proteins (Groussin et al., Biol Lett. 2013), nuclear receptors (Harms et al., PNAS 2013) or cetacean myoglobins (Dasmeh P. et al., PLOS Comp Biol 2013). In this talk, I will give an introduction to methodologies used to infer ancestral sequences and to identify amino acids under selective pressures. I will present some studies that successfully used these methods. Finally, I will present my recent work on RubisCO (Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase), the main enzyme responsible for the fixation of CO2 in bacteria and plants (Studer RA et al., PNAS 2014) and our current collaborative project on the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex, which participate in energy transfer in Bacteria.

Romain Studer is a postdoctoral fellow within the lab of Dr. Pedro Beltrao at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Cambridge, UK. He is now studying the evolution of posttranslational modification (PTM) of amino acids. He did his PhD at University of Lausanne (2005-2009), under the supervision of Prof. Marc Robinson-Rechavi. He studied the impact of whole-genome duplications in vertebrates’ evolution and initiated the development of Selectome, a database of positive selection. In 2010, he collaborated with Prof. Bernard Rossier (University of Lausanne) to work on the evolution of sodium regulation. He then received a fellowship grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation to continue his research at University College London within the lab of Prof. Christine Orengo (2010-2013). He conducted several evolutionary projects, on the RubisCO enzyme and on the coagulation system. His research interest is to study the evolution of biological systems by integrating knowledge from phylogenetic inference, structural information and biochemical function.

*please note time change to 3:00 pm instead of 4:30 pm