Date : 02/05/2011

Internship proposal for : Master 1 or Master 2

Laboratory
Laboratoire de Biologie Physico-Chimique des Protéines Membranaires
UMR 7099 CNRS
Institut de Biologie Physico Chimique
13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie
75005 PARIS
Website : http://www.ibpc.fr/UMR7099/
Main discipline : Biophysics
Lab director : Bruno Miroux

Supervisor
Dror WARSCHAWSKI
email : Cet e-mail est protégé contre les robots collecteurs de mails, votre navigateur doit accepter le Javascript pour le voir
phone : 01 58 41 51 11
Subjects

1.: structural biology
2.: membrane proteins
3.: mechanosensitive channels

Tools and methodologies

1.: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
2.: Cell Free Expression
3.: membrane biochemistry

Summary of lab's interests

Our team aims at determining the structure of a membrane protein, the mechanosensitive channel MscL, in a lipid membrane, by solid-state NMR. To do so, we have already optimized the cell-free expression protocols of this protein, as well as several isotopic labeling schemes. The first NMR spectra have been obtained (Abdine et al. J Magn Reson 2010) and, rather than searching for the whole protein structure, we will start by focusing on regions that are essential for the protein function. The reduction in the NMR signal will be compensated by the use of the new Dynamic Nuclear Polarization spectrometer that will soon be installed in the laboratory of Geoffrey Bodenhausen (ENS, Paris), thanks to a grant from the EQUIPEX program. Those new protocols can also be transposed to other biological macromolecules, in collaboration with other laboratory members.

Summary of project

This project is both an advanced biochemistry project (in vitro synthesis, membrane proteins...), and a solid-state NMR project, a technique that is currently growing in popularity. Those two skills are not easy to find in a student that is usually either trained in biochemistry or in physical-chemistry. The interdisciplinary partnership between our laboratory and the laboratory of Geoffrey Bodenhausen will provide the ideal environment for such a project and for the student to develop both types of skills and to participate in the first applications of high-field DNP in biological solids. This project has already started, with ANR, PEPS and FRM grants, and a grant for a PhD student. We are currently in between two grant submissions.