Structure-based Protein Functions
This research is focused on developing structure-based system biological science, under the Taiwan Protein Project, since January 2016. We have been engaged in the technical development of SACLA, the Japanese X-ray Free Electron Laser, as well as protein microcrystallography using the SPring-8 beamline. These technological resources will enable the determination of huge complex structures and the time series structures of protein and nucleic acid molecules.
The biological aim of the research is to accomplish the complete elucidation of the intracellular subsystems of life, through structural and functional analyses. We are focusing on the “protein-synthesis (translation)” and “DNA-repair” systems, as essential cellular processes in the central dogma of life. We will also elucidate the mechanisms of disease-relevant proteins, from a structural chemistry viewpoint. Mitochondrial diseases are particularly advanced in the project, since heteroplasmic defects of mitochondrial protein synthesis are their underlying causes in many cases.
This is an intimate research collaboration between the RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Japan, and the Academia Sinica, Taiwan.